After Kohli's fitness remark, Manpreet Singh invites the RCB star for a training challenge

Indian hockey team midfielder Manpreet SIngh has challenged Virat Kohli and the entire team of Royal Challengers Bengaluru to practice together. Manpreet wants hockey players and RCB stars to compete in a yo-yo test competition.

The former captain of the Indian hockey team spoke to RevSportz in an interview where he was asked if he will line up against Kohli. Manpreet is one of the fittest players in the hockey team and was ready to have a glove with the RCB players.

“Of course. We want to invite Virat and the entire RCB team to come and train with us. We will compete against each other,” said Manpreet.

However, the hockey icon said they will have an edge over their cricketing counterparts if they end up sitting together.

“If you look, their game is also difficult. The ball comes so fast. If you ask us to bat, it will also be difficult. The ball is coming at 150 km/h and that is also difficult.”

“The demands of his game are different and so are ours. His is about eye contact, batting, position and other things,” he added.

KOHLI’S TRIBUTE TO HOCKEY STARS

Speaking at the third annual RCB Innovation Lab India Sports Summit on Tuesday, Virat Kohli highlighted the value of fitness in sports, saying that cricketers are nowhere close to matching the fitness standards set by hockey players, estimating that it is not even 15 per cent.

“I know people sometimes look at fitness as something extraordinary, but to me it’s just what the job requires. It should be the norm, not something celebrated as special. Cricket is so paramount in our country that we often overlook other sports.”

“To be brutally honest, we are not even 15% of the fitness level of an Indian hockey player. If hockey players watched our training sessions, they would probably laugh because their sport is physically demanding,” he said.

Paddy Upton, India’s former mental fitness and strategic leadership coach, once said that Kohli would be the one the only cricketer who could survive a session with the hockey team.

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Published on:

21 May 2026 21:04 IST

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