Virat Kohli stands out as NCA puts out list of 23 centrally contracted cricketers treated over last season

It's no surprise that Virat Kohli keeps up a high level of fitness and rarely skips a workout. The former Indian captain is credited with redefining the Indian cricket team's fitness standards. A recent Board of Cricket for Cricket in India (BCCI) report bears witness to this. The report revealed names of 23 centrally contracted players who visited the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru for rehabilitation during the 2021–22 season, and Kohli’s name was nowhere to be found in the list.

BCCI CEO Hemang Amin drafted the report that described the activities conducted by the NCA in relation to the rehabilitation of players from all age categories during the previous season. A total of 70 cricketers, both male, and female, attended the NCA for medical care, and 23 of them were members of the senior national team.

All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, senior batter Cheteshwar Pujara, wicketkeeper batter Rishabh Pant, India’s in-form middle-order batter Suryakumar Yadav, veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, ace pacer Deepak Chahar, and captain Rohit Sharma were a few names among the 23 members of the senior national squad who attended the NCA throughout the course of the previous year for rehabilitation.

Out of 70 players, 7 were from the Senior Women's squad, 14 were from states, 23 were from the senior national men's team, 25 were from the India A squad, and one player was from India U-19. Over the past year, Kohli did not need to step into the NCA for any sort of recovery.

Since the Indian team management has placed a strong emphasis on workload management, the former captain has received ample rest in between series. In order to rest up for the Asia Cup, Kohli decided not to tour the West Indies and Zimbabwe, which also kept him mentally fresh.

While the Indian skipper had a hamstring which led him to check into the NCA, his deputy KL Rahul checked in after his hernia surgery. Several players have experienced serious injuries, and because the team management has placed a strong emphasis on strength and conditioning, the NCA fitness crew has been quite busy.

Over the past few years, Virat Kohli has done a good job of managing his workload. As a result of his outstanding showings in the Asia Cup, which was followed by the T20I home series against T20 World Cup hosts Australia and South Africa, Kohli will enter the T20 World Cup, which begins on October 16, with a great deal of confidence.