Needless to say that former Indian captain MS Dhoni remains one of the fittest cricketers in the world despite having retired from international cricket three years ago. In spite of being in his 40s, one cannot say it with conviction that either speed or intensity of his running between the wickets has caught up with his age or is not the same as it used to be during the prime days of his career.
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Notwithstanding all of that, one would never hear from the man advocating the importance or need for following a keto diet or leading a vegan lifestyle. In fact, akin other cricket-related matters, he likes to keep his food habits and fitness regime as simple as possible and opts for a balanced diet while putting in the required hard work in the gym or on the field.
Having said that, during the early stage of his international career, Dhoni used to relish mouth-watering dishes such as Butter Chicken and Dal Makhani. For those unaware, Butter Chicken is a type of chicken curry along with the help of a tomato gravy rich in butter. Dal Makhani, on the other hand, is made of urad dal (black beans) and other pulses with the richness of cream and butter. It is mostly consumed along with rice or chappatis.
Former Indian batter and one of Dhoni’s dear friends, Robin Uthappa, had revealed a few months ago how during his maiden international tour in 2006, Dhoni had come across as someone who used to enjoy the above mentioned dishes. However, he had adopted a particular method consumption, and did not devour on them in an undisciplined manner.
“We used to eat together. We had a group. Suresh Raina, Irfan Pathan, RP Singh, Piyush Chawla, Munaf Patel, MS [Dhoni] and me. We used to order dal makhani, butter chicken, jeera aloo, and roti every day. MS is very rigid in terms of food. He used to have butter chicken without chicken and was satisfied with only the gravy. If he had chicken then he used to skip roti. He hasn’t changed one bit,” remaked Uthappa during an interaction with Jio Cinema.
MS Dhoni Ate Only ‘Khichdi’ During 2011 World Cup
‘Khichdi’, a primarily South Indian dish made of rice and lentils (dal), has its health benefits but is not something which majority people would drool over in anticipation of having it. Former Indian batter Virender Sehwag had revealed around three months ago how Dhoni had consumed only Khichdi during the entirety of ICC Cricket World Cup 2011.
Not that it was a deliberate attempt from the then India skipper to opt for it on health or fitness grounds, but it was rather part of one of the many superstitions practiced by the Indian cricketers during that World Cup in particular, or in general. During an interaction with Star Sports, Sehwag spilled the beans on how Dhoni would keep up with the practice till the night of the final as he was convinced that the same was helping India to win matches.
“Everyone was having some or the other superstition, and everyone was following theirs. MS Dhoni had a superstition of having ‘khichdi’ all through the World Cup. He used to say that even if I’m not scoring runs but this superstition is working, and we’re winning matches.”
While Sehwag did not reveal why his captain had picked Khichdi out of all the other items to hang on to, it does have a host of health benefits. A balanced meal, Khichdi, is not only easy on the stomach but is power-packed with a number of nutritious elements required by the body. A bowl of the same contains carbohydrates, protein, calcium, phosphorous, potassium, and dietary fibre.
Even Virat Kohli Sacrificed Butter Chicken To Set Benchmark As Captain
Having set a yardstick with respect to fitness in Indian cricket, former Indian captain Virat Kohli was also a Butter Chicken-lover back during the early days of his career. Four years ago, his childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma had revealed in an interview how Kohli had to sacrifice the delicacy and a host of other fast foods for the sake of his career and in order to become a role model for others to follow.
“[Virat] Kohli once told me, ‘If I don’t set the benchmark as captain, who else will?’ Even as the world looks on in wonder, I know the boy behind the man. He used to gorge on butter chicken, rolls and all sorts of fast food. But today, it finds no place in his diet.”
Unlike Dhoni, Kohli is quite vocal with regard to his fitness routine and the his disciplined food intake habits. Nicknamed Chikoo by Dhoni, Kohli rightly made a lot of changes to his dietary routine in order to gain optimum fitness and results are evident of the same.
