‘I'm ready to do anything, 2027 will be my last World Cup’: Virat Kohli’s big announcement

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Indian star batter Virat Kohli has announced that the 2027 ODI World Cup will be the last World Cup of his career. Kohli, who has retired from Test and T20 cricket, currently plays only ODIs for India. He said the 2027 World Cup, to be held in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia, will be his final World Cup for India. He was speaking to JioStar ahead of the ODI series against the West Indies, which begins tomorrow.

“This will be the last World Cup I play for India. My aim is to give everything I can for the team. Winning the World Cup is the main goal. I am ready to do anything for it. The intensity of matches in an ODI World Cup is higher than in any other format. You have to play around 10 matches with the intensity of a T20 game. Each match requires an effort equivalent to playing around two and a half T20 matches in a day,” Kohli said.

The ODI series against the West Indies is being viewed as part of India’s preparations for the 2027 World Cup. Kohli is one of the leading batters in ODI cricket, having scored 14,941 runs and 54 centuries. He was also one of India’s key players when the team won the 2011 World Cup under the captaincy of M S Dhoni.

Kohli and Rohit Sharma retired from T20 internationals after India won the 2024 T20 World Cup. India had also been left disappointed after losing the 2023 ODI World Cup final to Australia at home and missing out on the title on home soil. With the countdown to the 2027 World Cup now underway, India batting coach Sitanshu Kotak has also said that the experience of Kohli and Rohit will add greater strength to the team.