IPL 2025: Army background shaped my discipline towards fitness, says KKR's Manish Pandey

New Chandigarh, April 14 (IANS) Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) batter Manish Pandey said growing up in an army background played a crucial role in shaping his discipline towards maintaining fitness levels. Apart from his attacking batting, Pandey has earned wide plaudits for his sensational fielding skills, whose base stems from his astute fitness levels.

“Being from an army background, it helped me as a kid because we had the opportunity to play a lot of different sports back then. So, that really helped me as a kid to have that early foundation of the kind of fitness,” said Pandey in an episode of 'Train Like a Knight'.

Pandey, whose lone appearance in IPL 2025 came via making 19 in KKR’s defeat to Mumbai Indians (MI), shed some light on how his typical fitness routine looks like. “I keep it very simple, try and stick to my goals, which is two strength and two cardio sessions in a week.”

In terms of nutrition, Pandey, 35, shared that he prefers having a light breakfast before going for gym session. “I'm not a big breakfast eater. My typical breakfast would contain eggs and porridge because I can start my workout immediately after an hour or so.”

“For my afternoon meals, I go a little heavy because I feel I've finished my gym. Then I can set myself for an evening sport. Probably get another boiled egg or something there. And a little bit of curd to accompany the whole thing,” he added.

Pandey also talked about his fondness of having curd in his meals. “Any kind of meal I'm having, either it's rice, dal, there must be curd in it. It's obviously good for the gut, especially during the summers, to make one feel nice and light.”

To enhance his recovery post matches, Pandey shared that he also looks at other sources like flax seeds and fish oil, which are rich in omega three. KKR, the defending champions, are currently at fifth place in points table and will face sixth placed Punjab Kings at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in New Chandigarh on Tuesday.

--IANS

nr/