New Delhi: India skipper Virat Kohli on Sunday said that he will continue to train like a maniac till the time he plays the sport. Kohli also credited Royal Challengers Bangalore’s trainer Shanker Basu for helping with this physical transformation.

The Indian skipper was doing an Instagram live session with India football captain Sunil Chhetri when he talked about his physical transformation.

“It (fitness and training) is everything for me, I would not take credit for it, for me the biggest factor for my career going in another template has to be Shanker Basu. He was a trainer at RCB, he introduced me to lifting. I was a bit hesitant, I had some back issues, it was a totally new concept for me. But within three weeks I was amazed at the results that followed,” Kohli told Chhetri.

“After that, he worked with me on my diet, I started paying attention to what was happening with my body, that’s when I realised that because of my genes, I have to work twice or thrice on my body, I am doing the basic thing which my career requires me to do. Till the time I am playing the sport, I will be a maniac, if you are playing for the country, you have to work hard, if you cannot do that, then you should step away,” he added.

Kohli has become one of the most highly admired sportspersons in the country and it is a testament to his disciplined fitness routine.

During his initial days of international cricket, Kohli was fond of chicken which he has admitted several times during media interaction. But in 2013, the 31-year-old batsman intentionally shifted his focus to fitness, diet, and training.

Now he has become punctual about his diet which has given him a different character on and off the field.

The comparisons between Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar have also kept on growing and many have picked the current Indian skipper to break the records set by Tendulkar.

Tendulkar managed to call time on his career after registering 100 international centuries, while Kohli currently has 70 centuries across all formats.

Currently, Kohli is ranked at the top spot in the ICC ODI rankings while he is in the second place in Tests rankings. (ANI)