Virat Kohli turned Indian cricketer into ‘out-and-out athlete’: Kevin Pietersen Cricket News

Former England captain Kevin Pietersen on Tuesday said fitness freak Virat Kohli has turned his teammates into “out-and-out athletes” and termed him an incredible transformation in Indian cricket of hero. Earlier, in his comments for IPL 2024, Pietersen said Kohli should be named in the Indian squad for the T20 World Cup against the United States and West Indies because “whatever his performance was, he performed well”. In a subtle message after guiding Royal Challengers Bangalore to victory over Kings XI Punjab on Monday, Kohli said he still allows the sport to thrive in the T20 format and sees himself as more than just growing the game globally. Movement tools.

Kohli’s comments sparked a furor and Pietersen told Star Sports: “The one thing that everyone will remember and create the best memories of as a player is when he completed the innings and became the greatest of all time One of the terminators.

“One of the things he did for Indian cricket is he turned Indian cricketers into athletes, athletes through and through, and while doing that, he didn’t just talk the talk. He’s done it, you can See that.” Talking about his commitment to the team, Pietersen added: “When he was running between the wickets, his whole commitment, energy and desire was to be the best and he was the best. OK

“It starts before the game, it starts with the diet, it starts with the amount of work he puts into the gym and the sacrifices he makes to walk the talk because when you talk the talk, you have to walk the talk. .

“It’s about all the other players who play under you looking at you and paying attention to you. The transformation of Indian cricket is because of what he did.” South Africa legend and Kohli’s former RCB teammate AB de Villiers also expressed his gratitude towards the player. The Indian batting mainstay was in awe.

“I could see it in his eyes, this guy means business tonight, no one is going to stop him,” de Villiers said on JioCinema after Kohli’s match-winning 49-ball 76 on Monday night. .Unfortunately, he didn’t get it done on the back end. He would have liked to.

“Knowing him, tonight he will be in his room analyzing, ‘Why didn’t I finish that game?’ He is very demanding on himself at times. He is among the players with the highest 50-point totals along with other players in IPL history. .

“He’s a fantastic player and he played really well tonight. He stayed in shape and kept them in the game. Well played, Virat.”