Indian spinner Ravi Bishnoi expressed his admiration for Virat Kohli’s fitness during an event in New Delhi on Saturday, highlighting how he idolizes the veteran batter’s dedication to physical conditioning and tries to emulate it in his own fitness journey.Speaking at the event, Bishnoi emphasized the importance of fitness in cricket and its role in providing extra energy and performance boost.“I look up to Virat Bhai [Virat Kohli], he is very fit. You can see his aggression on the field and off the field. When he bats or fields, you can see that energy, which fitness brings to your game, you get an extra push from it. I idolise him in fitness. I can’t go to his level, but I try to get close to him,” Bishnoi said while speaking to ANI.The young spinner made his T20I debut for India in February 2022, followed by his ODI debut in the same year. He has taken 61 wickets in 42 T20 matches for India, maintaining an average of 19.37 and an economy rate of 7.35.Lucknow Super Giants signed Bishnoi for Rs 4 crore as one of their pre-auction picks alongside KL Rahul in 2022.In his first season with LSG, Bishnoi claimed 13 wickets and played a crucial role in helping the team reach the playoffs. His performance improved in the second season when he took 16 wickets on spin-friendly Lucknow surfaces, contributing to LSG’s consecutive playoff appearance.
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Bishnoi’s cricket journey includes representing India in the 2020 Under-19 World Cup in South Africa, where he emerged as the leading wicket-taker and helped India reach the final. That same year, Punjab Kings acquired him for Rs 2 crore at the IPL auction.“My focus is on fitness. The more I focus on fitness, the longer my career will be. Fitness helps me to grow further. As you can see, fitness culture has changed over the years. As the game has become faster, the demand for fitness has also increased. It is very important to focus on fitness because you need to maintain mental and physical awareness in everything. That’s why fitness is very important,” Bishnoi added.
