New Delhi: At over 90kg, Mohammed Shahzad is the complete antithesis of fitness freak Virat Kohli. 

But the Afghan wicketkeeper-batsman says who needs a punishing regimen like the India captain when he can hit bigger sixes than the world’s No.1 ODI batsman… Standing at 5’8”, there is seldom a dull moment when the stocky Shahzad is around, both on and off the field. 

“Dekhiye hum fitness bhi poori karte hain aur khaate bhi poora hain (I work a lot on my fitness and eat quite well too). You want me to have a fitness routine like Kohli? It is not possible, but I am working on losing weight,” Shahzad said. 

The 30-year-old cricketer, who has had an eventful international career dating back to 2009, simply plays by his own rules. He knows he is overweight, but doesn’t doubt his abilities one bit, so much so that he believes that he can hit bigger sixes than Kohli despite not having the exemplary fitness and skills possessed by the latter. 

Having played in a refugee camp in Pakistan, the Jalalabad-based player speaks Urdu fluently and also passes the Hindi test. Remind him of his weight again, Shahzad says not everyone can be like Kohli. 

“Jitna lamba chhakka woh (Kohli) maarte hain, main unse zyadaa maar saktaa hoon… Zaroorat kya hain unki tarah itna diet karne ki (I can hit bigger sixes than Kohli, so why do I need to follow his diet)?” says Shahzad, whose failed attempts at weight-loss had resulted in a one-year doping ban last year. 

He spends a lot of time in India and claims to know top Indian cricketers well. He calls Mahendra Singh Dhoni his “closest friend” in the Indian team and also enjoys good rapport with Suresh Raina and Shikhar Dhawan. 

The cricketer has often faced criticism for being ‘overweight’, but he has hit back at his critics with match-winning performances. He has defied the odds to become Afghanistan’s leading run-getter in T20s and is second only to Mohammed Nabi in ODI runs. 

“My coach (now Phil Simmons) knows that I can keep for 50 overs and bat for 50 overs as well. I have never seen weight as an issue,” said Shahzad, who is preparing in India with the team for its maiden Test in Bangalore next month. 

He has won his team many games, but has also been in the news for wrong seasons. He recently got back into the team after a serving a one-year doping ban. Then he copped a two-game suspension as recent as March during the World Cup qualifiers in Zimbabwe for causing damage to the ground after being upset at his dismissal. 

He returned to deliver a Man of the Match performance in the final of the World Cup qualifier against the West Indies. And two weeks later, his country’s cricket board pulled him up for playing in a local tournament in Peshawar without its permission and summoned him back to base.  

PTI