Virat Kohli
2027 World Cup will be my last for India
Collected Photo
Having retired from Tests and T20s, Indian cricket legend Virat Kohli now plays only ODIs for India. Kohli has now revealed when he plans to bid farewell to the 50 over format. Next year’s ODI World Cup will be his final tournament for India. He wants to give his all to win the trophy in his farewell World Cup.
In an interview with JioStar on Saturday, Kohli said, “This is going to be my last World Cup playing for India. Obviously, our goal is to win the World Cup. I am completely prepared to do whatever is required for that.”
Speaking about the challenges and physical and mental pressure of playing a 50 over World Cup outside home conditions, Kohli said, “The intensity of a 50 over World Cup is much more than anything else. Here you have to play at least 10 matches with the intensity of T20 cricket. You are basically playing the equivalent of two and a half T20 matches in a single day. And it is not easy to maintain that same intensity across 10 consecutive matches in such a big tournament. Besides, this time the tournament will be played overseas (South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia), which naturally has a major impact on the body and mind.”
Kohli has scored a record 54 centuries in the ODI format. The 37-year-old batter has scored 14,941 ODI runs, the second highest after Sachin Tendulkar’s 18,426 runs. He won the ODI World Cup on home soil in 2011. Kohli’s team lost to Australia in the final of the 2023 World Cup. The 2027 tournament, which will be jointly hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia, will be Kohli’s fifth ODI World Cup.
Although he has not announced his retirement after the World Cup like Kohli, another Indian legend Rohit Sharma said, “The thought that my responsibility is over never comes to my mind. As long as you are playing, there is always something new waiting ahead. I am also now looking forward to the World Cup.”
Kohli and Rohit are included in India’s squad for the three match ODI series against the West Indies. The first match of the series will be held in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday.
