Manpreet Singh has challenged Virat Kohli and the entire Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) squad for a joint training session and a Yuu Test match.The Indian hockey midfielder made the comment during an interview with RevSportz, where he was asked about competing against Kohli in a fitness challenge. Manpreet, one of the best players in the Indian hockey setup, said that he would like the hockey team and RCB players to train together.“Obviously, we want to invite Virat and the entire RCB team and do a training session with us. We will compete against each other,” Manpreet said.During the discussion, Manpreet said that hockey and cricket demand different skills and fitness requirements. “Hockey is a very fast game, our speed test is also very fast and the training is very hard. If we talk about the U-U test, goalkeepers have at least 20. In the game of hockey, you go from corner to corner in 2-3 seconds, so to maintain that, our speed, intensity etc. are monitored during our sessions. Only then can we be fit enough to perform well at the international level.”“If you see, their game is also difficult. The ball comes so fast. If you ask us to bat, it will also be difficult. The ball comes at 150 kmph and that is also difficult,” Manpreet said.He added that his game needs are different and so are ours.Manpreet’s comments came after Kohli spoke about the fitness standards of Indian hockey players during the third edition of the RCB Innovation Lab Indian Sports Summit recently.“I know people sometimes see fitness as something extraordinary, but for me it’s a requirement of the job. This should be normal, not celebrated as something special. Cricket is so important in our country that we often neglect other sports.”“If I’m being brutally honest, we’re not even 15 per cent of the fitness of an Indian hockey player. If hockey players watch our training sessions, they’ll probably laugh because their sport is physically demanding,” Kohli had said.Former Indian mental conditioning and strategic leadership coach Paddy Upton once said that Kohli would be the only cricketer who would be able to survive a session with the Indian hockey team.
