Not many sports lend themselves to the captain of a high-flying national team being nicknamed ‘Tubby’.

In addition to Mark Taylor, Australian cricket captain from 1994 to 1999, there have been quite a few other elite players bearing similar monikers, at least in the 20th century.

A pattern is discernible — from the 1920s when Aussie all-rounder Warwick ‘Big Ship’ Armstrong stood 1.9m tall and weighed 133kg, to the 1980s when Ian ‘Beefy’ Botham captained England and Aussie batsman Greg ‘Fat Cat’ Richie announced a personal fitness campaign with the words “runs first, lunch later”.

But times are changing, and these days Indian Test captain Virat Kohli is profiled for his fitness routine and largely vegetarian diet almost as often as his cover drive.