One of the fittest athletes in the world, Virat Kohli has redefined the word ‘fitness’ for Indian cricketers. The Indian skipper turned to a vegetarian diet in 2018 and has never looked back. He has highlighted the importance of being a vegetarian several times.
Meanwhile, Kane Richardson, who was picked by IPL-side Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) for the 2020 season, has been vegan for the past five years. He revealed that while he was in Bangalore in 2016, Virat Kohli had a big hand in giving him tips on how to stay vegan in India. Kohli also used to pass on vegan food to him.
Speaking to ESPN Cricinfo, he said, “Obviously in India, being vegetarian is quite an easy thing to do, but [for vegans] it can be a bit of a challenge now, considering most things have cheese or butter or cream, but that’s getting better as well. Virat’s a big hand with that – he always gives out some tips about where to go or even passes on some food or breakfast.”
Upon being asked if that was the reason why Virat bought him in the IPL auction, he laughed and said, “Maybe that’s why! He actually did send me a message when I got picked [in the auction]. He said, “Welcome back and make sure the super foods are ready”, and I said, “I’m looking forward to breakfast time already.”
Upon reading this story, a user on Twitter asked, “Kohli ** actually bought him for being a vegan?”
Kohli BC actually bought him for being a vegan? pic.twitter.com/OE4SFO9BnZ
— Spidey (@spidernoir99) January 17, 2020
Last year, in October, Virat Kohli took to his Twitter account to share how being a vegetarian has changed his life.
Saw game changers on Netflix. Being a vegetarian athlete has made me realise what I have believed all these years regarding diet was a myth. What an amazing documentary and yes I’ve never felt better in my life after I turned vegetarian.
— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) October 23, 2019
After watching Netflix’s documentary, ‘The Game Changers’, he wrote, “Saw game changers on Netflix. Being a vegetarian athlete has made me realise what I have believed all these years regarding diet was a myth. What an amazing documentary and yes I’ve never felt better in my life after I turned vegetarian.”
Kane Richardson and Virat Kohli now face each other in Australia’s tour of India where the Aussies came out winners in the first encounter. Both of them will go from being rivals to being teammates when the IPL season starts on March 29.