Virat Kohli is 37 now, but if you ask anyone on the Indian cricket team about fitness, his name still comes up first. There are plenty of young guys playing for India these days, and they’re doing great, but when it comes to setting the bar, it’s still Kohli. He only plays ODIs these days, but his fitness? Always spot on. In this year’s IPL, he’s already smashed over 550 runs. Just watch him field or run between the wickets — that drive, that energy, it makes people sit up and take notice. For years, Kohli’s talked about how taking fitness seriously changed everything for him.
His childhood coach, Rajkumar Sharma, once shared a little story about him on the Express Cafe YouTube channel. He said Kohli is so strict that he doesn’t touch sugar. “I don’t even know how many years it’s been since he stopped having sugar,” Sharma laughed.
Back in the early IPL days, it wasn’t so easy for Kohli to stay focused. Sharma remembers that time well. Kohli’s just won the junior World Cup and RCB picked him up in the first-ever IPL auction. He was only 17 or 18. RCB was all about the party life — everyone had to go, and Sharma doesn’t really blame Kohli for getting swept up in that. If you’re that young and surrounded by that atmosphere, how do you avoid it?
Sharma admits those days tested him as a coach. “I had to scold him a lot,” he said, “and I did a few things I can’t really talk about, just to help guide him. But really, I don’t blame him. At that age, it’s tough to say no to parties. My job was just to make sure he stayed on track. Thankfully, Kohli listened. He understood what he had to do — and once he got it, he never looked back.”
Now, Kohli’s walked away from Tests and T20Is. He’s got his eyes set on the 2027 ODI World Cup. Honestly, you can still see the old hunger, just focused in a new direction.
