Virat Kohli & Co. indulges in chicken curry ahead of first Test against Sri Lanka

In modern-day cricket, fitness is an essential component. More or less every team has improved considerably on their fielding. Every team is looking for better outputs in the field. As a result, for a cricketer, a proper diet with a balance of macro and micro nutrients is a must nowadays. Maintaining the correct shape and posture is of utmost importance for any cricketer around the globe.

It amplifies a bit more as far as Indian skipper Virat Kohli is concerned. The Delhi lad is extremely conscious about what he is eating and what he is not. Emulating the leader, the rest of the players sporting the blue jersey are also very serious about their diet. But recently, the tables have turned. The Indian team is in Sri Lanka at the moment. From Wednesday, the first Test among the three will begin.

A day before the Test match, the players were seen indulging in mouth-watering recipes, leaving their diet charts aside. BCCI recently uploaded a video on the Facebook page. In the video, all the health conscious cricketers of India are seen gorging on chicken curry and rice. Pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar is more interested in curd rice and dal while skipper Kohli is seen busy concentrating on chicken.

The caption of the video read – “Who’s keeping a check on their eating habits, the Indian skipper’s meal to beat the humidity and the chef’s food for thought while preparing the meals, find it all in this lunch date with #TeamIndia”. Ravindra Jadeja was trying out the Sri Lankan special soup while Umesh Yadav decided to go for naan with Chicken Curry.

“This Indian cricket team has brought in the fifth dimension. It all started with playing the game – batting, bowling and fielding – fitness being a part of it. Now the players have embraced fitness and lifestyle which reflects on the buffet spread here. They are extremely aware and well educated on what to have as a proper meal in-take and what not to have. They are proper professionals and the fifth dimension is here to stay. That is the name of the game now. The macro and micro nutrients, the timing of the meals, supplements and what not has become the game-changer here. It’s gung-ho time here,” said the strength and conditioning coach of the Indian team Shankar Basu.

The main reason behind the gala lunch

Why did all of a sudden the team opted for an oily dish like Chicken curry? The answer is explained by the skipper himself. Kohli said the curry has a bit of oil which is needed in a humid place like Sri Lanka. Also, carbohydrates are very important since the humidity is unbearable and they are spending a lot of energy on the field. Hence, the chefs of Taj Samudra Hotel in Colombo prepared such a meal for the Indian team.

Watch the video here