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The way Virat Kohli trains isn’t like how everyone else does: John Gloster
Gloster, who worked with the Indian cricket team from February 2005 to February 2008, reckons fitness is one aspect of the game where compromises are unacceptable and the India captain has set the perfect example.
John Gloster, former physiotherapist of the Indian cricket team, believes the fitness standards set by Virat Kohli are second to none. Gloster, who worked with the Indian cricket team from February 2005 to February 2008, reckons fitness is one aspect of the game where compromises are unacceptable and the India captain has set the perfect example.
“The good thing about Virat Kohli is that he is fitness conscious. The way he trains isn’t like how everyone else trains. Everybody has to train individually,” Gloster told the New Indian Express. “Fitness is non-negotiable in the modern game of cricket. Virat has set the standard and if you want to compete on the international stage, you have to be fit.”
Besides India, Gloster has worked with Bangladesh and is currently under contract with IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals ever since the beginning. Gloster has remarkable things to say abut one of Kohli’s biggest contemporaries, Steve Smith – whom he looks after at the Royals. Understanding how individual training schedules work, Gloster terms Smith a ‘natural athlete’.
“Steve is a natural athlete. He has a solid foundation on fitness and he works on that. He is also a smart trainer. He understands that each format of the game requires a particular workload and works accordingly,” Gloster said.
Gloster feels modern cricketers need to have a combination of three elements – strength, agility, speed – and is hopeful of players working towards it during this Covid-19-iduced break. With many players set to return during the IPL, which gets underway on September 19, Gloster feels this is a crucial time.
“This is a good opportunity for them to build on that,” Gloster said. “Given that we don’t have much time to go back to working on some of the basics, this (lockdown) is a great chance for the players to work on stability, work on their basics – power and mobility, and ultimately like I said, building the platform, building the foundations. Once we all get together, we can start implementing speed training.”
