'He had jaw and neck pain before the 2011 WC semis' - Former physio lauds Virat Kohli's 'phenomenal' ability to endure pain

Virat Kohli has often been seen as one of the toughest cricketers in the game. While further endorsing the narrative of Kohli being a fierce cricketer, former physio of the Indian team, Ashish Kaushik, revealed how the cricketer showed immense courage taking the field in India’s semi-final fixture at the 2011 World Cup, even though he was struggling with some physical pain.

As per Kaushik, when India took on Pakistan in the semi-finals in Mohali, the then 23-year-old Kohli was suffering from neck and jaw pain. However, he took it in his stride and showed immense tolerance to the pain by featuring for India in the all-important game. Kaushik further commented on Kohli being an individual who is more focused on finding solutions than sweating over his issues by showing complete faith in his ability to get through the challenges.

“His pain tolerance is phenomenal. Some players get affected by pain more than others – pain being a subjective marker – but Kohli has got a tremendous ability to endure pain and look for solutions. I remember he had some neck and jaw pain before the 2011 World Cup semi-final in Mohali but he would take everything extremely, extremely lightly, and somehow know that he can work through it,” Kaushik told Cricbuzz.

Virat Kohli is often credited as the torchbearer of  India’s much-improved fitness standards

Kohli, who recently played in his 100th Test match, is often regarded as one of the modern-day greats of the game and has had his tryst with fitness well documented. The cricketer, who follows a strict diet and workout regime, is one of the fittest persons in the sport.

Many of the budding Indian cricketers as well as his current and former teammates have in the past lauded Kohli as being an inspiration and also the one to have transformed the Indian team’s standards in terms of overall fitness.