Change in attitude around fitness a turning point of Virat Kohli’s career: Paddy Upton

Paddy Upton, the former Team India mental conditioning coach, said that Virat Kohli turned his career around after he realised the flaw surrounding his fitness. After the 2014-15 season, the current Indian skipper pulled up his socks and kept raising the benchmarks of fitness. It was the same period when Virat had a horrendous outing in the Test series in England.

Kohli, with the help of Shankar Basu, changed his diet and kept hitting the gym on a consistent basis. Among the current bunch of Indian cricketers, the 31-year-old is deemed to be the fittest. Upton, who was a part of the Men in Blue staff in the 2011 World Cup, reckoned that the change in attitude helped Virat substantiate his immense talent.

Upton’s words of praises for Virat Kohli   

“I’m guessing one of the turning points came when Virat realised he was slightly overweight and only averagely fit, and that if he wanted to be one of the best in the world, he needed to also be one of the physically fittest in the world,” Upton was quoted as saying in The Times of India (TOI).

“This change in attitude around his fitness, was one of the turning points and taking him from a highly talented cricketer who was cruising along, to a highly talented cricketer who was genuinely delivering on his talent,” Upton, who’s presently with the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL, added.

By the end of 2104, Kohli was already the Test skipper after MS Dhoni hung his boots from the format following the Melbourne Test. At the start of 2017 during India’s series against England, Virat took over as the ODI and T20I skipper.

He hasn’t looked back by any means and has grown in stature. In fact, the leadership mantle rubbed off positively on his batting. Last year, Virat also became India’s most successful Test skipper during the away series against the West Indies.

He also guided India to the semi-final of the 2019 World Cup where they lost to New Zealand at the Old Trafford in Manchester. Kohli is also one of the most popular crickets in the IPL, playing for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).