Muttiah Muralitharan didn’t mince his words to put out his first impression of Virat Kohli. In a conversation with Ranveer Allahbadia on The Ranveer Show, Muralitharan used terms such as “oversized” and “not fit” to throw light on how elite fitness wasn’t on Kohli’s radar right at the start of his career.
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Kohli, who was unequivocally on the chubbier side back in the day, had realized the importance of fitness for an international athlete only after a mediocre IPL 2012. Readers must note that Kohli’s performance at the highest level wasn’t poor before that realization as he had amassed 3,590 runs at an average of 50.56 across 82 ODI innings including 11 centuries and 21 half-centuries before the start of the fifth IPL season.
Muralitharan, who had played 46 matches for Chennai Super Kings between 2008-2010, had also played for Royal Challengers Bangalore under Kohli between 2012-2014. It was at the time when Muralitharan was taken aback by a change in Kohli’s lifestyle and fitness regime.
Muttiah Muralitharan Compares Virat Kohli To David Beckham
Muralitharan, who watched Kohli from close quarters for three seasons in a row, validated his supreme level of fitness by calling him the “fittest man on a cricket field”. Needless to say that the former Indian captain has been an inspiration to many over the years.
The extent to which Kohli has changed physically as an athlete in all these years can be determined by the fact that the legendary Sri Lankan cricketer compared him to former English footballer David Beckham. One of the best football players of his time, Beckham is now the co-owner of MLS side Inter Miami.
“[Virat] Kohli was oversized. He was not fit. First time when he played in Sri Lanka, he got a hundred. Still he got a hundred, I can remember [laughs]. But he is a great batsman, played in the winning World Cup [in 2011] also. After that, when I joined him [at RCB], he transformed so differently, something clicked in his mind,” Muraliharan said on The Ranveer Show.
“Nobody else I have seen in my life trains like him. He changed his food, changed everything, and became the fittest man on a cricket field. So that believes like, you know, one time [David] Beckham, similar.”
However, contrary to what Muralitharan mentioned, Kohli didn’t score a century on his first tour of Sri Lanka. As a matter of fact, it took him four tours across as many years to score a century in the island nation. Readers must note that Kohli’s first century in Sri Lanka had come in a bilateral series in 2012 – a series infamously remembered for current India captain Rohit Sharma averaging 2.6 across five innings.
Dale Steyn Had Also Compared Virat Kohli To David Beckham And Cristiano Ronaldo
Although not for fitness-related reasons, former South Africa pacer Dale Steyn had compared Kohli to Beckham and another football superstar in Cristiano Ronaldo before the start of the second phase of IPL 2021. It was at the time when Kohli had stepped down as Royal Challengers’ captain but was still desirous of playing for them.
Readers must note that Kohli has been playing for RCB since the inception of the Indian Premier League. That said, since auction dynamics and player retention are tricky affairs, these long-term commitments can change with time. Talking to ESPNCricinfo, Steyn also laid emphasis on the same by saying that he wouldn’t be surprised if Kohli represents any other team in the cash-rich league in the future.
Steyn threw light on how many high-profile athletes leave a long-standing association with a club to play for another as time passes by. In cricketing terms, Steyn provided Universe Boss Chris Gayle‘s example, who also used to play for RCB once.
“We’ve also seen David Beckham leave Manchester United, after playing for an entire lifespan for them, to go and play for other teams but Cristiano Ronaldo recently returned to Man United. You’ve got famous people who play for club teams for a long time, so who knows?”
Much like Kohli, Beckham and Ronaldo are also famous for representing a club for a long time. Beckham, 48, represented Manchester United between 1992-2003 before moving to Real Madrid. A decade ago, his last professional match had come for Paris Saint German in France.
Ronaldo, on the other hand, played for Manchester United between 2003-2009. Similarly, he also plied his trade for Real Madrid between 2009-2018. Although not for an elongated period, he made a much-awaited return to United in 2021. The 38-year old player had joined Saudi club Al Nassr last year.
