"I Never Claimed To Be Vegan" Says Virat Kohli

1 June 2021

Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli tweeted today that he "never claimed to be vegan" in response to comments on his recent post where he mentioned he eats eggs. The athlete had mentioned he was off dairy and meat in a 2019 interview to improve his health. This definitely sparks controversy as the sportsman has promoted a plant-based diet several times. He has even been featured in the award-winning documentary 'The Game Changers'.

I never claimed to be vegan. Always maintained I'm vegetarian. Take a deep breath and eat your Veggies (if you want ????)??????????

— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) June 1, 2021

While this is a disappointment for vegans and the growing plant-based movement as a whole, a reality many celebrities face is the lack of accessibility of plant-based products when they’re traveling. Moreover, this may be a result of the growing number of flexitarians in India, although the negative health effects of animal products have been highlighted by multiple studies in recent years. 

A similar case was seen with Bollywood actor Aamir Khan who went vegan for a while but resumed eating meat when he was shooting Dangal to gain muscle. A good vegan nutrition plan easily fixes this problem, however lack of awareness is still a major deterrent.  It is still unfortunate that influential names in India have not fully embraced plant-based diets, despite witnessing the benefits. 

Even Olympic athletes such as Venus Williams, Dotsie Bausch, Carl Lewis and Novak Djokovic have been following a plant-based diet to improve their performance, and have seen great results. 

India’s first lady Ironman, Aarathi Swaminathan also shared her vegan journey and the immediate improvement in performance that she observed in her endurance sports. Kuntal Joisher, who was the first vegan to climb Mt. Everest, has reiterated the benefits of a plant-based diet on multiple occasions.

Kuntal Joisher

He comments:

“A lot of education and myth-busting needs to happen in the sphere of veganism and sports. The biggest pain point tends to be protein. Most dieticians and nutritionists come from a background that eggs are required in a diet or that milk is the best protein source, and these are the people advising the athletes. So, a lot of exposure needs to happen at that level as there are not many plant-based nutritionists, so that is where the disconnect is.”

With so many stories of the success of vegan athletes, it is surprising that Indian athletes are not making the most of it. But there is hope that these stories will eventually capture more attention and probe some of the beloved members of Indian sports teams to go plant-based.

Image Courtesy: Twitter