The ICC Cricket World Cup is in full swing and hosts Team India is comfortably sitting at the top of the table, with 5 wins and no losses. The team, led by Rohit Sharma is performing well on all fronts, with superstar Virat Kohli being the highest run getter for India and Jasprit Bumrah being the highest wicket taker. And this successful campaign till now is fuelled by healthy and nutritious meals as well as relentless practice sessions.
Wherever Team India has been travelling, the BCCI and hotel staff have been providing the best kind of diet. Not just India, but every team is getting the food as per requests from the team members. Anshuman Bali, executive chef at the Hotel Leela Palace revealed that most Indian players prefer having foods which are high in protein and carbohydrates. This is due to the fact that they need to rebuild muscles after playing and practising for long hours and keep up their strength and stamina.
Recipe - Peepal Farm Products
The Chef also mentioned that while the buffet has all kinds of meat, the players opt for steamed or grilled chicken or fish. Talking specifically about Virat Kohli, he said that he doesn't eat meat and they prepared steamed foods, like vegetarian dim sums, and other vegetable-based proteins, like soya, mock meats, and lean proteins, like tofu for him. His meals also contain as less dairy as possible, because of his dietary preference.
Like everyone else, millet is again one of the preferred ingredients for the players. Hotels have been serving ragi dosas and millet idlis, which are loved by every team, especially Team India. Some foreign players also like Indian foods like pav bhaji (one of Australian skipper Pat Cummins’ favourite), paratha and biryani.
Recently, it was reported that the Pakistani cricket team was served delicious Hyderabadi biryani when they landed in Hyderabad, along with kebabs. Recently, Pakistan’s star opener Imam-ul-Haq went on to claim in a press conference that his team needed to eat more protein than carbs, stating that as a reason for the lack of six hitting by them in the tournament. Such a serious statement regarding diet in an official press conference only proves what we all knew – diet and nutrition is extremely important in competitive sports.
It is important to note that Virat Kohli used to be a hardcore non-vegetarian, before he transitioned to a vegetarian diet, a little after his wife, actress Anushka Sharma did so. This, Kohli claims, has been one of the best decisions of his life and he feels more energetic after giving up meat. It sure reflects in his performance as Virat is India’s leading run scorer, with a century and 3 fifties (including a brilliant 95 while chasing versus New Zealand) to his name. As Team India looks to win the ODI World Cup for the 3rd time, the protein-rich, nutritious diet can be one of the major factors in making sure that we are on the right and healthy track.