Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) strength and conditioning coach Shanker Basu revealed his first conversation with the Indian stalwart, Virat Kohli. Basu revealed that Kohli had seen him training Deepika Pallikal (an Indian squash player) and thus he wanted to be treated like an individual athlete. After admitting that he did not follow proper fitness plans or live a very healthy lifestyle until 2012, Virat left no stone unturned in competing with the world’s best and fittest athletes.

AS per the quotes in India Today, Shanker Basu said, “The onus of this change is on Virat. In 2014, he said he has a stiff back and can you do something about it? It was only for six weeks and we could not do much then. So, I told him we will make a template for you and I will have to make drastic changes to the training that you are doing now. He asked a lot of technical questions and after several conversations back and forth, he said: ‘Ok let’s start,’.”

ALSO READ: Virender Sehwag Reveals Why He Rejected India Coaching Offer

Basu stated that he told the star cricketer to train like an Olympic athlete and also hailed Kohli’s mind-boggling zeal and extraordinary passion for excellence.

Recalling the same, Shanker Basu said, “Virat has seen me training Deepika Pallikal and that time she was in the top 10. So, Kohli told me don’t treat me like a cricketer and work with me like an individual athlete. So, I told him you will have to train like an Olympic athlete. I am not tired of telling this but I have never ever seen a guy like Virat Kohli. He can do the simple, most boring things of life every day and it does not matter whether he is performing or not (on the field).”

Basu, who also worked with Team India in the same capacity, said that once Kohli, the then-India and RCB skipper, was convinced of the fitness pattern, it was simple for him to get the message across to other cricketers, citing Dinesh Karthik as an example.

ALSO READ: Gautam Gambhir Not In Favor Of KL Rahul Wicketkeeping In WTC Final

Shanker Basu explained, “People are always caught up with visual fitness, but athletic fitness is very different. Yes, Virat is very fit and he looks (fit) too, the cosmetics, and he is blessed that way. It is the same thing with Dinesh Karthik, his resilience and robustness on the cricket field is unbelievable. He’s never been injured much and hardly loses any time on the field. My theory is that once you hit one, you hit five, once you hit five you’ll hit 50 and once you hit 50, you hit the nation.”