From Dhoni's Chicken Butter Masala to Kohli's Chole Bhature: The IPL Legend's Meal 

The IPL season is upon us and while the franchise-based format might earn the ire of Test puritans and eminent historians, the IPL is now firmly ensconced as the most viewed cricket league in the world and is already competing with long-established competitions like the NFL or the Premier League for viewership. And, while some might lament the death of secure defensive batting displayed over five days in empty stadiums with a largely sonorous audience, there’s no argument against a player securing his (and his family’s) financial future with one big contract.

Take the case of Rinku Singh – the son of an LPG delivery agent – who swapped the broomstick for a bat. The lad was snapped for Rs 80 lakh by Shah Rukh Khan’s Kolkata Knight Riders, and he repaid their faith in mindboggling fashion as he hit five sixes in five balls against Yash Dayal of the Gujarat Titans. And then had the wherewithal to call a heartbroken Yash Dayal and offer him words of solace.

1) Rohit Sharma (Captain)

Favourite Dish: Kotimbir Vadi

Cricket might have changed since the days when the roly-poly Sri Lankans taught ostensibly fitter athletes what’s what but if there’s a player who’s a throwback to the good ol’ days it’s Rohit Sharma. IPL’s most successful captain might not brandish the rock-hard abs that some of his colleagues display but who needs abs when you can time the ball like he does. In fact, for the longest time, online fans of Virat Kohli have often accused Rohit Sharma of being more partial to Vada Pav than fitness but interestingly that’s not Rohit Sharma’s favourite dish.

Asked to choose between three Maharashtrian classics - Kotimbir Vadi, Misal Pav and Vada Pav, Rohit Sharma chose Kotimbir Vadi. For the gustatorily uninitiated or those who prefer ostentatious English terms to describe basic snacks, Kotimbir Vadi is a savoury crisp fritter made from gram flour, coriander leaves, sesame seeds and a gallimaufry of spices.  

2) David Warner (Foreigner)

Favourite Dish: Chicken Avocado Sandwich

Opening the batting with Sharma is David Warner, one of the most prolific dancers to grace the league who can also bat a bit. Long before RRR’s Naatu Naatu, it was the IPL who made white folks dance to desi beats and Warner can often be found shaking a leg to the latest Telugu hit with his family on various reels.  

Warner has also developed quite a liking for Indian dishes and often takes to Instagram to share pics of things he loves to eat including rasgullas and biryani.  And like every other millennial, Warner is partial to avocados and his favourite dish is a Chicken Avocado Sandwich. 

3) Virat Kohli 

Favourite Dish: Chole Bhature 

If there’s one cricketer who has sacrificed beyond measure to turn his body into a temple, it’s Virat Kohli, the heir apparent to Sachin Tendulkar. Having given up meat to control his uric acid, his diet includes protein shakes, veggies, soya, watermelon, papaya, and dragon fruit. He also drinks soups and broths made of fresh veggies like beetroot and spinach. And he carries around his collection of nut butter to eat with gluten-free bread, when he isn’t downing 3-4 cups of green tea a day.  

But there’s a dish that has always had the central Delhi lad’s heart and that’s Chole Bhature, especially the one from Ram’s Chole Bhature from Rajouri Garden. In fact, recently the internet went nuts when Kohli appeared to receive a parcel with his favourite Chole Bhature.

However, it took coach Rahul Dravid to spill the beans (or the chole if you will) who showed that his disdain for cholesterol matched his disinclination to let Sachin Tendulkar score a double century. The coach declared that it was actually Chole Kulche and Kohli tried to tempt the Wall who refused citing that it was too much cholesterol at his age. As the old adage goes: You can take the Dilliwalla out of Delhi but you can’t take the Delhi out of the Dilliwalla. Especially his love for Chole Bhature.

4) Suresh Raina

Favourite Dish: Kadhi Chawal

At second down we have Mr IPL himself, Suresh Raina. The Chinna Thala to Dhoni’s Thala. The fifth-highest run-getter in the IPL is also quite a mamma’s boy.  During an interview, the former Chennai Super Kings star’s mother revealed that the southpaw’s favourite dish was the North Indian classic Kadhi Chawal. In fact, he would often ask her to make enough for the team, including MS Dhoni.

In fact, Raina is often found chancing his arm in the kitchen, whether it’s making kadhi chawal or posting that all he does is “think about food”. I mean who doesn’t?

5) AB De Villiers (Foreigner)

Favourite Dish: Daal Makhni

And at number 5 we’ve Mr 360 AB De Villiers who has during his stint in the IPL rewritten the rules of batting, even if they didn’t result in a trophy for RCB. An absolute sports nut who considered playing tennis professionally, he is the sort of all-rounder we hated in school. In fact, his extracurricular repertoire is so vast that he even has a pop album to his name and is an accomplished guitar player to boot.

A thorough athlete, ABD follows a strict diet which includes cereals, milk ,fish, chicken, eggs and protein shakes. However, Mr 360 does play some wayward gustatory shots from time to time as evidenced on his Instagram profile which comes to life on his cheat days. ABD often posts pictures of himself eating junk food including pizzas, burgers and fries.

And his favourite dish? Well, it’s a Punjabi classic – Dal Makhani and some special amore for the cream on top. As he said in an interview: “I’ve fallen in love with Dal Makhani, to be honest! You just give me a few garlic naans on the side, and I will polish it off. I eat it every couple of days, and I make my teammates eat it. The way they put cream on top... India is a fantastic country with regard to the food on offer.”

6) Hardik Pandya

Favourite Food: Coffee Cheese Pav Bhaji

You can take Gujarati out of Gujarat, but you can never take Gujarat out of the Gujarati. Over the last couple of years, food vlogging in India has been just about outraging over the amount of cheese that Gujaratis put in street food. The Gujarati love for cheese is absolutely fascinating and it’s no surprise that Gujarat Titans’ captain Hardik Pandya’s favourite dish is also Cheese Pav Bhaji.  

Like all cricketers of this yolk, the former Koffee With Karan guest lives on a Spartan diet of boiled eggs, fresh fruits, shredded chicken, fruit salads, peanut butter proteins and more but there was a time when he survived on Maggi – morning, noon and night.  However, Pandya still retains a soft spot for Dal Tadka, Cheese Pav Bhaji and Lasooni Palak but probably doesn’t get to indulge as much as he’d like.

7) MS Dhoni (Wicket Keeper)

Favourite Food: Chicken Butter Masala

Now there are a lot of different reasons people adore MS Dhoni. Some laud his ability at national integration, how a boy from Jharkhand became the hero of a Chennai-based franchise which is cheered on by folks from all states. Others adore him for taking a game deep – so deep it could be a philosophy thesis at JNU – before finishing it off in style. Some – especially Gautam Gambhir – will always remember his six at Wankhede that gave India its second ODI World Cup.  But personally, for me, it will probably be because he was a man of staunch gustatory principles.

The story goes that Ambati Rayudu (then playing for Mumbai Indians) had sent Dhoni and the CSK squad some delectable home-cooked biryani but the five-star hotel refused to let the team eat it in the boardroom. A furious Dhoni moved the entire team to another hotel because let’s be honest – a man and his biryani should never be parted. Clearly, on and off the field, Dhoni was the living embodiment of Rudyard Kipling’s If, particularly if the poem was about a man and his biryani.

And his favourite dish? Well as his Twitter profile announces: “Member TEAM INDIA, Biker, Gamer, Hindi retro aficionado, an absolute pet-lover and perennially hungry for chicken butter masala.”

8) Dwayne Bravo (Foreigner)

Favourite Dish: White rice and Stewed Chicken   

One of the most flamboyant all-rounders to grace the IPL, Dwayne “Champion” Bravo was also a heartbeat of the Galactico-like Chennai Super Kings team. A man of many talents including being a Masterchef judge and popstar.

A bonafide T20 legend, Bravo won two T20 World Cups with West Indies and 15 franchise titles across the world including four IPL trophies with CSK. A few years ago, Bravo tried a host of Indian dishes including dosa but decided that his favourite was white rice and stewed chicken.

9) Shane Warne (Foreigner)

Favourite Dish: Lasagne Sandwich

There are flamboyant cricketers. There are controversial cricketers. There are those who rile up opponents. There are the lads that make women go weak in the knees. And then there’s Shane Warne, cricket’s closest answer to Diego Maradona. His sex scandals were legendary, and he was active on Tinder.

Warne was such a character that he once summed up his life saying: “I smoked, I drank, and I bowled a bit of leg spin. I don't have any regrets." Unlike others who lapped up the local cuisine, Warne would take his own toaster (along with 2,000 tins of baked beans). He once summed up his gustatory habits by saying: “I reckon sitting in a restaurant is a waste of time, the same as cooking... Eat, go, party. I’m all about atmosphere and vibe. I like hot chips, pasta, pizza, white-bread cheese sandwiches and apples. If there’s an opposite to a foodie, I’m it.”

And his favourite dish? Lasagne sandwiches.

10) Jaspreet Bumrah

Favourite Dish: Dhokla

One of the wet dreams most Indian cricket fans in the 90s had was to dominate SENA teams with fast bowlers. That dream finally came true with the emergence of fast bowlers like Jaspreet Bumrah who was the perfect Sith-like apprentice to Lasith “The Slinger” Malinga.

Over the last few seasons, Bumrah has emerged as the Numero Uno fast bowler – in the IPL and for the Indian team – and his ability to hit yorker after yorker has stunned many batsmen. And like all other cricketers, Bumrah too follows a strict diet,  laying off bread, fried food or sweets. However, he does allow himself a cheat day when he consumes everything from biryani to sweets. And the lad from Gujarat has a soft spot for Dholka, a dish that will never lose its favour with Gujaratis.

11) Zaheer Khan

Favourite Food: Biryani

And finally, bringing the rear is a genuine fast bowling threat who often held up the tent on his own and was absolutely terrifying for Lefties – Zaheer Khan. 

Clearly a man who loves his food, Zaheer and his wife Sagarika often share lip-smacking pictures of dishes like crab or pizza on their Instagram account. Zaheer Khan decided to get into the restaurant business when he was injured and he needed to have something to fall back on. After hanging up his boots, Zaheer Khan (along with his brother) runs a popular restaurant called Fine Dine in Pune whose kebab platters and biryanis are to die for. He also loves cooking keema and pasta, but his all-time favourite is his mother’s Mutton Biryani.

Well. that’s all for this week folks. Enjoy the Chakna Cricket season.