Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar has drawn a sharp comparison between Virat Kohli’s fitness culture and the physical standards of Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav, suggesting both batters made life harder for themselves by not maintaining elite conditioning levels as they moved into their 30s.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Speaking on Sportstar’s Insight Edge Podcast, Manjrekar said Kohli’s long-lasting success across formats is directly linked to his extreme focus on fitness, while players like Rohit and Surya may have suffered because they failed to match those standards.“Take a leaf out of Virat Kohli’s book,” Manjrekar said. “Virat is not in his early 30s and he had tough times in T20 cricket, but look at him this season. And what is the one difference between Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav and Virat Kohli’s fitness?”
Manjrekar said Suryakumar still possesses the experience and skillset to succeed, but believes fitness has become the missing piece.“So the mental side of things is there. Just get your body to support your intent,” he explained.“I thought Rohit Sharma as well fell off and waned off because he didn’t take care of his fitness as much as he should have. He just made things a little more difficult. I see that with Surya as well.”
‘Go into extreme fitness like Virat’
Manjrekar repeatedly pointed towards Kohli’s discipline as the benchmark modern cricketers should follow.“Take your fitness levels to the next level. Go into extreme fitness like Virat does,” he said. “When Virat gets any success, the first thing he attributes that to is his physical fitness.”According to Manjrekar, T20 cricket becomes increasingly unforgiving once players cross 30 if physical conditioning drops even slightly.He described Suryakumar’s recent decline as one of the most fascinating stories in T20 cricket after years of sustained brilliance.“He and Jos Buttler ruled T20 batting,” Manjrekar said. “But then this sudden drop of form came… the consistency of brilliance was followed by this consistent failure.”The former India batter believes age and declining fitness may be affecting Surya’s trademark hand-eye coordination, especially for his unconventional shots behind square.“I’m certain about one thing, his fitness is not what it should be,” Manjrekar said. “If I was his personal coach, I would only get him to be lighter on his feet, stronger.”
