Revealed: Favourite food of top 10 Indian, Pakistani cricketers

As arch rivals India and Pakistan prepare for a mouth-watering clash in an Asia Cup blockbuster in Dubai on August 28, we round up the favourite food of the star cricketers from both teams

Rohit Sharma

Indian skipper Rohit Sharma aka Hitman makes no bones about his love for vada pav, a vegetarian fast food dish native to the state of Maharashtra where he hails from.

In an Instagram chat, the swashbuckling opener said he loves vada pav so much that he would eat them almost daily during the early days of his career. However, Sharma’s fans were not amused when food delivery app Swiggy retweeted a fan’s post with a photoshopped image of the cricketer diving into a vada pav stall.

Following a massive social media backlash, Swiggy tweeted: “A special message to the Hitman’s fans We reposted a fan’s tweet in good humour. While the image was not created by us, we do admit it could’ve been worded better. It was not meant to offend anyone in the least.”

The tweet with the picture was also deleted.

Babar Azam

Pakistan captain Babar Azam maybe ranked number 1 in ODIs and T20s but there’s one dish that bowls him over: Biryani.

The prolific run-getter, however, eats moderately and maintains a strict fitness regime, a practise diligently followed by many other Pakistani cricketers since 2019 when former Pakistan captain turned head coach Misbah-ul-Haq ordered a ban on biryani, oil-rich meals or sweet dishes to ensure that the players remain more agile and fit on the ground.

Virat Kohli

Fitness freak Virat Kohli eats many small meals throughout the day, as opposed to large meals. In an Ask-Me Anything (AMA) session on Instagram, the former captain said his diet includes "lot of vegetables, some eggs, 2 cups of coffee, dal, quinoa, lots of spinach." However, when it comes to comfort food, chole bhature (leavened fried bread served with chickpea curry) remains Kohli's firm favourite.

No wonder when he found out that the Delhi branch of Civil Line Wala that served the dish had shut down, he sent his driver to their outlet in Gurugram, Haryana to get the delicacy home.

“Anushka and I had chole bhature in Delhi one day and after two hours we went to gym and smashed it.”

Mohammad Rizwan

Wicketkeeper batter Mohammad Rizwan, is a big fan of Kabuli Pulao, an aromatic dish of steamed rice dish mixed with lamb, carrots, raisins and toasted almonds. Kabuli Pulao takes its name from Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. The dish is equally popular is Peshawar where Rizwan comes from.

Rishabh Pant

The new star of Indian cricket has a lot more in common with Virat Kohli than one would imagine. Australian great Ricky Ponting recently said Pant’s thought process is similar to that of Kohli's. Now Kohli's childhood coach Raj Kumar Sharma has also drawn parallels between their emotional reactions when they lose a match.

The uncanny similiarites don’t end here. Like Kohli, Pant also has a weakness for chole bhature. Could it be the secret behind those big sixes?

Fakhar Zaman

Who can turn away a bowl of cheesy pasta?

Pakistan’s Southpaw opener Fakhar Zaman is no exception.

The former navyman, who bats with an unusually high backlift, loves snacking on piping hot macaroni on cheat days. Otherwise, Zaman is extremely health conscious and keeps an eye on his calorie intake to remain in shape.

Ravindra Jadeja

The dependable all-rounder owns a multi cuisine restaurant called Jaddu’s Food Field but himself relishes Kathiyawadi food inspired from the cuisine of the Saurashtra region in his hometown in Gujarat. He enjoys a Kathiyawadi thaali during his time off.

According to Jadeja’s sister Naina, who runs the restaurant in his absence, the cricketer is also fond of Punjabi cuisine, particularly dal makhani.

Shadab Khan

Spin-bowling all-rounder Shadab Khan has revealed that his all-time favourite food is achchar gosht. A spicy lamb/mutton curry dish cooked with achari (pickle) spices to bring out the distinct pickle flavour, achar gosht is hugely popular in the Indian sub-continent.

Khan made the revelation during a question answer session on Twitter. One wonders if it’s this is what he had when he smashed a 28-ball 48 not out as Pakistan posted 314/6 against Netherlands last week.

Hardik Pandya

Widely recognised for his fearless batting, Hardik Pandya has boiled eggs, shredded chicken, sautéed veggies and a handful of nuts for breakfast daily. However, if there’s one dish that he can have daily without getting bored it’s the humble khichdi.

Sometime ago a young fan asked him secret behind his power-hitting. The alrounder replied: "I hit such big sixes because I eat khichdi and spend a lot of time in the gym."

Imam-ul-Haq

Unlike his more famous uncle Inzamam, the left-handed opener is prudent about his diet and eats only fruit and yogurt during lunch time. But he has a lot of food memories from his hometown in Multan. "I have a lot of memories from Multan," he said in an interview.

"I still remember having Gol Gappay and obviously Sohan Halwa which is world famous."

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• India
• Pakistan
• Dubai