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Fit and firing Kohli talks playing future

For all the international bowlers out there it's not anytime soon

India captain Virat Kohli says he could play until he is nearly 40 if he continues his dedicated health and fitness regime.

Kohli will turn 29 in November but believes he could play for another decade if can maintain the same level of training intensity as he can now. 

"Lot of us don't actually know how far we can push ourselves," Kohli said on Friday. 

"Maybe at times, without knowing, we are only able to realise 70 per cent of our potential. 

"Therefore it is necessary to push yourself until you are done. 

"For example, if I train as hard as I train now, I will possibly play for another 10 years."

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It would be quite an achievement should Kohli play into his late 30s, but it’s not without precedent.

In fact, Kohli’s idol, Sachin Tendulkar, played the last of his 200 Tests at the age of 40.

Kohli, who regularly shares photos and videos on Instagram of himself training, revealed to The Telegraph in 2016 he changed his philosophy on diet and physical fitness after a poor Indian Premier League season five years ago.

"It changed in 2012," Kohli said. "I had great tours to Australia and scored 180 against Bangladesh and went into the IPL thinking: ‘Wow this is going to be a great season for me’. I wanted to make it my tournament and dominate the bowlers. I really struggled.

"My training was horrible, I ate so bad, I was up until late, I was having a drink or two regularly. 

"It was a horrible mindset. The season ended and I was so thankful it was over. 

"I went home, came out of the shower one day and looked at myself in the mirror and said ‘you can’t look like this if you want to be a professional cricketer.’

"I was 11 or 12kgs heavier than I am now, I was really chubby. 

"I changed everything from the next morning from what I eat to how I train. I was in the gym for an hour-and-a-half every day. 

"Working really hard, off gluten, off wheat, no cold drinks, no desserts, nothing. It was tough.

"For the first two months I felt I wanted to eat the bed sheet when I went to sleep because I was so hungry. 

"I was craving taste. I was craving delicious food. But then I saw the results. 

"I felt quick around the field. I would wake up in morning and feel like I had energy. 

"From 2015 I changed my training again. I started lifting, snatching, cleaning and dead lifting. 

"It was unbelievable. I saw the result. I remember running after a ball in a Test series in Sri Lanka and I felt more power in my legs. It was, like, 'wow'. This training is addictive. 

"The last year-and-a-half it has taken my game to another level."

Since January 1, 2016, Kohli has been in rare touch. Even for him.

In 19 Tests he has scored six centuries at an average of 64.

He averages an astonishing 92.42 in one-day internationals with seven hundreds, including his 30th.

And in 20 T20 internations the right-hander averages 74 at a strike rate of 140.

So opposition bowlers be warned, you could have another 10 years of Kohli to deal with yet.