Indian skipper Virat Kohli on Thursday revealed the reason behind him turning a vegetarian saying that it was a 'cervical spine issue' which forced him to take the decision.
Kohli joined former England batsman Kevin Pietersen in an Instagram Live video session where both the cricketers discussed a range of topics.
"Left eating meat just before the England Test series. In 2018, when we went to South Africa, I got a cervical spine issue while playing a test match. It compressed a nerve that was running straight till my little finger of my right hand. It gave me a tingling sensation and I could barely feel my little finger. I could not sleep at night and it was hurting like mad," Kohli said in the video.
"Then I got my tests done and my stomach was too acidic and my body was too acidic, creating too much uric acid. Even though I was taking calcium, magnesium, everything but one tablet was not sufficient for my body to function properly. So, my stomach started pulling calcium from my bones and my bones got weaker. That is why I stopped eating meat completely in the middle of England tour to cut down the uric acid and I have never felt better in my life, to be honest," he added.
Kohli further stated that the benefits made him think why did not he take this decision earlier.
"I felt amazing, it is almost two years now and it is the best decision I have taken... it made me feel why I didn't do it before," he said.