It is often said that fitness and physique matter a lot in cricket. People believe cricketers should have six-pack abs, and many praise Virat Kohli for his fitness and use him as an example.
But now this photo has surfaced. After RCB's IPL trophy win, RCB player Romario Shepherd was seen without a T-shirt, and his stomach appeared quite prominent. Many people started calling him overweight and unfit.
Similarly, cricketer Rohit Sharma is also often called fat and unfit. He is regularly trolled and mocked because of his physique.
However, both Romario Shepherd and Rohit Sharma consistently hit massive sixes in cricket matches. They regularly clear the boundary with ease, sometimes even sending the ball out of the stadium. Both Rohit Sharma and Romario Shepherd have also played many explosive innings at very high strike rates, and fans enjoy watching them bat.
The same applies to Vaibhav Suryavanshi. He does not have six-pack abs either, and his body looks healthy and natural. Yet this season, he has hit the most sixes in the IPL and has one of the highest strike rates.
On the other hand, Virat Kohli hits far fewer sixes. Many of his sixes do not travel very far and often land close to the boundary rope. He is not known for power-hitting in the same way.
In reality, cricket is not solely about physique or six-pack abs. Having a lean physique or six-pack abs does not automatically make someone a better cricketer.
This is why cricketers should not be judged based on their physique or whether they have six-pack abs. Players like Romario Shepherd, Rohit Sharma, and Vaibhav Suryavanshi have become successful and popular because of their performances and ability to hit big sixes, not because of how their bodies look.