Virat Kohli completely transformed Indian cricket, feels Hardik Pandya

The Indian cricket revolution is real and the way Virat Kohli has made the team a fitness freak is there for everyone to see. Hardik Pandya, one of the faces of new-gen Indian cricketers, took it a notch higher for his efforts in the gym, with the stress injuries reducing by a fair margin. Talking to India Today, the Baroda all-rounder shed lights on the impact of the Indian captain and how that made a world of difference.

"Lots of people started having fitness awareness. He changed and completely transformed. Why people follow him because he sets the example and leads from the front. A fit Virat is always the better Virat, as I have said. 100 per cent (on being inspired by Kohli). Naturally, I am a very fitness-oriented guy. But to see someone at that level, it is very commendable," Pandya told India Today.

"It's just amazing. If you see the old Virat Kohli and the new Virat Kohli, it's just different. The amount of energy he has in the 49th over also, he jumps and throws and gets angry," 

Pandya made his T20 debut for India four years ago in Australia under MS Dhoni's leadership, and since then, he has grown leaps and bounds to be recognised as India's best all-rounder across formats. Injuries in the last one year haven't helped his cause but Pandya is still in the contention and will make a comeback as soon as he recovers. Speaking about the growth, Pandya credited MS Dhoni and Rahul Dravid for their advice.

“MS told me once, that if you want to get rid off the pressure of your own pressure then stop looking at your score on the scoreboard. Put the team in front and you will never feel the pressure. To be honest, since then I have never felt that kind of pressure that I used to feel earlier,” Pandya said.

“I actually started learning one thing from Rahul Dravid. I have started picking the right balls. There was an India A meeting after the 2015 World Cup, I was picked for Zimbabwe series, I was not there on the India tour to Australia as well. I also had bad IPL."

Further, the all-rounder recalled the moment when he was roped in to replace Vijay Shankar in India's A series against Australia. 

“So what happened was, I was with the Baroda state team. I got a call from BCCI, saying I might have to fly to Australia as Vijay Shankar has got an injury or something. So I went there and in a meeting, someone said that I am going to play my natural game. So, Rahul Dravid did not agree to that and said there is no (such) thing as natural game," the all-rounder said.