Star Indian batter Virat Kohli is arguably among the fittest athletes in the world and is highly conscious about his eating habits. Having already claimed to have turned vegetarian in his several interviews earlier, Kohli's latest story sparked plenty of eyebrows as he revealed to be having 'mock chicken tikka' and praised Blue Tribe Foods for preparing the same.
Kohli took to his recent Instagram story and shared an image of an almost finished plate and had written, 'You’ve really nailed this mock chicken tikka'. and tagged Blue Tribes in the same. While the 35-year-old was hardly a fan of plant-based meat in the initial phase of his career, he might just have resorted to it.
Virat Kohli story. | (Credits: Instagram)
The concept of Mock Chicken Tikka:
With fans keen to know how is mock chicken tikka different from the regular version of the dish, the former is not actually made out of chicken. Instead, soy is deployed. However, the flavour and texture of it remain almost the same, making it difficult to differentiate between the two.
What made Virat Kohli give up meat?
During an Instagram live session back in 2020, Kohli revealed that he turned fully vegetarian before the Test series in England in 2018. The former Indian captain recalled the discomfort earlier that year during the South Africa tour due to too much uric acid in his body.
"Left eating meat just before the England Test series. In 2018, when we went to South Africa, I had a cervical spine issue while playing a test match. It compressed a nerve that was running straight to the little finger of my right hand. It gave me a tingling sensation and I could barely feel my little finger. I could not sleep at night and it was hurting like mad."
"Then I got my tests done and my stomach was too acidic and my body was too acidic, creating too much uric acid. Even though I was taking calcium and magnesium, everything but one tablet was not sufficient for my body to function properly. So, my stomach started pulling calcium from my bones and my bones got weaker. That is why I stopped eating meat completely in the middle of England tour to cut down the uric acid and I have never felt better in my life, to be honest."
The Delhi-born cricketer was the leading run-getter during the 2023 World Cup and will next be seen during the Test series in South Africa.