Virat Kohli's Childhood Coach Shares Details Of RCB Party Culture: "A 17-18 Year-Old Can't Resist"
Virat Kohli is 37. There are many younger players in the Indian cricket team who are doing really well, but when it comes to the gold standard of fitness, it's still Kohli.
- Virat Kohli's childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma revealed he has avoided sugar for many years
- Early in his IPL career, Kohli struggled with RCB's party culture as a teenager
- Coach Rajkumar Sharma helped Kohli manage distractions and focus on fitness
Virat Kohli is 37. There are many younger players in the Indian cricket team who are doing really well, but when it comes to the gold standard of fitness, it's still Kohli. He plays only one format (ODIs), but his fitness is top-notch. In the ongoing IPL 2026, Kohli has scored over 550 runs. The intensity that Kohli shows during fielding or running between the wickets is a lesson for many. He has time and again said how focus on fitness lifted his performance. Kohli's childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma revealed that he is very particular about not having sugar.
"I don't even know for how many years he hasn't had sugar," Sharma said on Express Cafe YouTube channel.
Sharma went on to say that during the early IPL years, it was difficult for Kohli to stay away from distractions. Kohli has played only for RCB in the IPL since 2008. Fresh from an U-19 World Cup triumph, Kohli was picked by RCB in the inaugural auction.
"It was the most important phase of his life. When he was fortunately picked for RCB, you know what the culture in RCB was - the culture of parties. And I don't blame him at all. A kid of 17 or 18 cannot avoid that party culture. It was mandatory for everybody to attend those meetings and parties. There was a culture there that you had to go to parties. So how could a 17-18-year-old kid resist that party culture?" Rajkumar Sharma said.
"At that time, I really had to work hard with him. I had to scold him a lot. I did many things that I cannot reveal here. Just to control him - not to control him, but to handle him. I don't blame him at all. When you are such a young kid and you have to go to such parties every day, you can't resist. But my role there was that I handled him. By God's grace, he understood me, he understood what needed to be done, and from there he never looked back."
Kohli has retired from Tests and T20Is. He is focussing on 2027 ODI World Cup.
Virat Kohli
Royal Challengers Bengaluru
India Cricket Team