Umpteen budding cricketers have drawn inspiration from the cricketing icon Virat Kohli, who has set precedence for everyone with the glory he has achieved in the modern cricket with his sheer resilience and hardwork. Fitness too played a pivotal part in his illustrious career that has raised the bar for the cricketers to aspire to don the coveted Blue jersey.
One such talent who thinks Kohli has a great influence in his life is B Sai Sudharsan, who is playing or table-toppers Gujarat Titans (GT) in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL).
Sudharsan took inspiration from Kohli, and tried to implement a better fitness routine, the youngster’s mother, Usha was quoted as saying. Usha, who is a strength and conditioning coach herself, said that Sudharsan used to focus on his batting a lot more in his early years. However, watching Kohli’s athleticism changed his mindset.
"A lot of young kids have this mindset, 'I just want to get my turn to bat,'" Usha told ESPNCricinfo.
"Sai was similar during his early years and then he changed himself. He watched a lot of videos of Virat Kohli. Kohli said that his fitness gives him a lot of confidence. After that, he started training seriously with me. During the pandemic, he worked hard on his fitness, and during these two years, he used to chew my ear off, asking, 'Why do we train like this? Why don't we train that way? What benefit does it bring?' He used to ask a lot of questions," she further added.
Sudharsan has played five matches for Hardik Pandya-led side after replacing fellow Tamil Nadu player, Vijay Shankar. He has scored 145 runs with a high score of 65* against the Punjab Kings (PBKS).
Sudharsan made headlines during the 2021 Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL), where he emerged as the second-highest run-getter scoring 358 runs for Lyca Kovai Kings. His effort helped him bag a place in the Tamil Nadu’s squads for the Vijay Hazare Trophy, Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and the Ranji Trophy. This year, after all-rounder Vijay Shankar was ruled out due to a back spasm, Sudharsan made his IPL debut for the Titans against Punjab Kings and scored an impressive 35.