Ishant Sharma: 'I'd never heard fat percentages being discussed in the team before Virat'
Ishant Sharma on perplexing his mother by giving up milk, his new-found love of coffee, and how Virat Kohli revolutionised fitness in the Indian team
When I am on tour, I love to eat sushi, because I love Japanese food. At home generally I love to eat whatever my mom makes for me. But I get really happy if she makes rajma chawal. I'm a big fan of that.
(Laughs) Yeah, I did. It tastes amazing, actually. Harshal Patel [Haryana fast bowler] introduced me to that. I've become a coffee person now. I have started researching on Wikipedia. I look for which coffees are good, which are dark, light… all those things I read about.
My mother doesn't want to. My father does drink coffee, but not without milk.
While playing I used to drink it, but not at home. But now without having a black coffee I can't even get up.
Everyone, actually. Even Virat [Kohli] drinks a lot of coffee. Jinks [Ajinkya Rahane] used to come to my room during the IPL. Ash [R Ashwin] came to my room, too.
Lord's. Their cheesecakes are amazing.
While playing you can eat it, because you burn it in the course of a Test match. It is when you are not playing that you have to worry about what you are eating and not.
I just go to the restaurants mostly for sushi.
Varun Aaron, Ashok Dinda, both are good cooks.
I can make scrambled eggs, omelette type stuff. During the lockdown [in 2020], I tried making healthy sweets with coconut milk, peanut butter, chocolate chips... ice cream as well. My parents like them too.
Nobody says don't eat it, but because you are playing for the country, it is your job [to watch what you eat] and especially after crossing 30, it is better that you don't eat fast food.
I try and eat carbs. I'll have dal and rice along with boiled potatoes. That gives energy.
While playing I don't like having a full stomach, because that makes me feel heavy and lazy.
While playing I just have a normal protein shake. If I have normal lunch then I just have water, but if I haven't had lunch, I will add nuts, almond milk, banana and protein.
Yes, two and a half years ago.
Chole bhature. The last time I had it was during the lockdown but that was homemade. I asked my mom to make it with olive oil.
Obviously, but how do you stop your craving? It was during a phase when we did not know when we were playing next.
Just protein bars and protein powder.
Right now, Navdeep Saini. Have you seen how he's built? He can eat anything. When I was young, till about 25, I was eating anything. It was only after that I realised I needed to bring in a change in my eating to conserve my energy to bowl long spells and stay fresh during the training.
No, but he set an example for everyone, for sure. Take the case of fat percentage - before him I had never heard of it being spoken about in the Indian team. It was totally about skill. But now, along with skill, it is also about fitness. So if you eat well, you stay strong in the field, maintain your fitness, your energy. After what he did for himself, it totally changed the system in the Indian cricket team.
No, no. She loves eating. Having said that, although she has stopped playing, she does keep tabs on what she eats. Except when she is in Banaras [Varanasi], her hometown, where she can't control eating sweets.
Nagraj Gollapudi is news editor at ESPNcricinfo