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IPL 2014: Chris Gayle, Mitchell Johnson or Virat Kohli – who is the fittest player? (Poll)

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collage

While you may want your favourite team to win this time, ultimately the team which plays the best cricket at crucial moments will come out victors. Skill, intelligence and understanding of the game are just some factors that will decide the difference between teams. Physical and mental fitness too will be equally crucial. Here are the 10 of the fittest players playing in this edition. Take our poll and tell us who is the fittest amongst them all?

1. MS Dhoni

ms dhoni
ms dhoni

With responsibilities of a captain, a batsman and a wicketkeeper, many wonder how MS Dhoni has managed to achieve so much success in his career. Not only is Dhoni one of the best exponents of holding one’s nerve under pressure, he is also extremely fit physically. ‘To be able to do hundreds of squats a day behind a wicket, and then come out to bat means Dhoni has to be extremely fit.’, John Gloster, a physiotherapist who worked with the Indian cricket team told Hindustan Times. Read more about the secret of Sachin Tendulkar’s fitness.

2. Lasith Malinga

lasith malinga
lasith malinga

The Sri Lankan pace bowler surely knows how to uproot stumps with his fast pace, accuracy and infamous slinging action. An integral part of the Mumbai Indians side, Malinga attributes his fitness to his solid upbringing where he would constantly be active. ‘I have always been active. Every morning we would go swimming in the river behind the village. We would swim over to my aunt’s place on the other side. I would climb the coconut palms to pluck the king coconuts. We would drink them and swim back. If we weren’t swimming or at school, which took place from 8am to 2pm, we were playing softball until it was dark. We never stopped.’, he said in an interview with ESPN Cricinfo.

3. Jacques Kallis

Jacques Kallis
Jacques Kallis

With more than 13,000 test runs and 292 test wickets, fitness must have been a critical component of Jacques Kallis’ consistency over so many years. Being just an international batsman requires so much practice, just imagine how much work Kallis would have put to be a bowler too. Read more about Rahul Dravid’s fitness secrets.

4. Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli

Despite playing so much cricket, Virat Kohli has consistently scored big runs and stayed away from injuries. The RCB captain loves gymming, and is a big fan of doing core exercises as it keeps him balanced. He is also a big believer in the concept of eating right to stay fit.

‘I try to eat as light as I can for dinner. During game time, I have protein shakes with carbs. And I take my carbs from good sources. I don’t touch junk food unless it is in a place like Kochi where you are completely drained and it is a one-off.’, he told Forbes India.

5. Mitchell Johnson

mitchell johnson
mitchell johnson

Mitchell Johnson is arguably one of the most intimidating and feared fast bowler in world cricket today. According to The Australian, Mitchell Johnson trained with Australia’s Special Air Service Regiment, where his body was put through the most rigorous of exercises. Speaking about his fitness regime, Corporal Roberts-Smith told Fairfax, ‘You find a way no matter what it takes because in our line of work complacency or lack of desire can lead to loss of life. When we put it in those terms and he and I spoke along those lines, it became clear to him what lengths we will go to by way of training and development to achieve our outcome.’

6. Shane Watson

shane watson
shane watson

Shane Watson is a tall and strong cricketer, who can hit the ball a long way outside the boundary line. However, he was not always just as strong. Suffering from a brittle body that was extremely susceptible to injuries, Watson made it a point to go to any lengths in order to continue being an international cricketer. ‘He got too strong and too big and overdeveloped and was not in control of his own body, so we got him into Pilates and also changed his running style under the guidance of Stuart Karppinen, the Australian conditioning coach,’, physiotherapist Victor Popov told The Telegraph.

7. Dale Steyn

dale steyn
dale steyn

Dale Steyn bowls with a lot of pace and does not shy away from showing aggression on the field. A great inspiration for young fast bowlers across the world, Steyn believes that stamina and not muscles is what makes a great fast bowler.Your gym work has got to be worthy. You don’t need to look like Tarzan if you bowl like Jane. What bowlers should be doing is making sure they can train their muscles for taking part in battle for a long period. You want your quick bowlers bowling at 140km/h at the start of the day and just as quick in the late afternoon.’, he said in an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald.

8. Chris Gayle

chris gayle
chris gayle

Not many in the history of world cricket, can hit a cricket ball as powerfully as Christopher Henry Gayle does. When asked about how he generated so much power, Gayle told DNA, ‘A good cricket bat and a nice workout in the gym is all you need. You need to build your muscles, work on your intensity and hit balls in the nets. It won’t happen overnight, though.’ As for his diet, the RCB batsman loves his pasta and believes in a good healthy breakfast.

9. Shikhar Dhawan

shikhar dhawan
shikhar dhawan

The SRH skipper doesn’t just score big runs with the bat, he also exhibits great agility in the field. Dhawan, who struggled with concentration and flexibility in his early days, finally found a solution to these problems by doing yoga.

10. Kevin Pietersen

Kevin Pietersen
Kevin Pietersen

Ever since Kevin Pietersen made his entry into world cricket, people were struck by his incredible power. The England man who is no stranger to hitting sixes and demoralizing bowlers, is also an epitome of fitness for the young generation to emulate. In an interview with ESPN Cricinfo, he said, ‘If you train and practise hard, that always helps you prepare for your innings in the middle. Simply put, the fitter you are, the easier it is to concentrate.’

Who do you think is the fittest? Take this poll and tell us what you think:

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