Virat Kohli on WC 2027: ‘Of course I want to carry on, playing a World Cup for India is amazing’

Daily Update, Sports

Virat Kohli has opened up about his desire to play the 2027 ODI World Cup, saying that he wants to carry on, “not to provide anything to anyone”, but because he’s still heavily invested in the game.

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Kohli talked about fitting back into the ODI squad, saying he was only playing the game because his love for it is still intact. However, he has added that, despite his commitment, if he must prove his “worth and value” for the team, “that place is not meant to be for me”.

“My perspective is very clear,” Kohli says. “If I can add value to the environment that I’m part of and the environment feels like I can add value, I’ll be seen.

“If I’m made to feel like I need to prove my value and my value, I’m not in that space. And because I’m being honest to my preparation, I’m being honest to how I approach the game.

“I put my head down, I work hard. I’m very thankful to God for giving me everything that I’ve been given in my cricketing career. And I feel very blessed and thankful for the opportunity.

“And when I come to play, I put my head down,

I work as hard if not harder than anyone else. And I play the game in the right way. You want me to run boundary to boundary for 40 overs in an ODI game, I will do that without a complaint.

“Because I prepare accordingly. I prepare for the fact that I will field 50 overs every ball like it’s the last ball I’m going to play in my career. And I will bat that way. And I will run among the wickets that way. And I will do everything possible for the team.

“After operating like this, if I have to be in a place where I have to prove my value and value, that place is not meant to be for me.

“And I am very clear in my head from that perspective. That’s why when I went back to play, I was very clear in my head, I’m not going out there to provide anything to anybody. I’m going to play because I love playing the game.”

Already retired from Test and T20I cricket,

there’s plenty of anticipation around Kohli’s future path. Over the past two years, he has been in fine touch in the one-day format, scoring three hundreds and averaging 65.10 in 2025. This year, he averages 80 from three ODIs.

Kohli‘s willingness to continue in the format took him back to domestic cricket, where he made a rare appearance for Delhi in the 2025/26 Vijay Hazare Trophy, scoring 131 and 77 in two games.

“That’s how I played Vijay Hazare as well. It was amazing,” Kohli says. “There was not a person in the COE (Center of Excellence).

“First, I thought, ‘I’ve played for so long and will it be motivating enough?’ But the moment my intention switched to ‘I want to play because I love playing. I just love batting. I just love batting.’

“And I couldn’t care. It’s not like I didn’t field. I fielded the entire game and I was diving around and I felt like a child again.

“I was like, this is not about anyone else. This is about me and the game and that’s what it’s going to be. And the moment I feel like people are trying to complicate it for me and be like, ‘Oh, but this and that’…Either be clear, honest and upfront or be quiet and let me play.

“Look, if you go to your workplace, right? And if people say, we believe in your capabilities.

“And then a week later, they start questioning the way you operate. It’s like, why? Either tell me on day one, I’m not good enough or I’m not necessary. Or if you said I’m good enough and you say, we’re not even thinking otherwise, then be quiet.

“If you start running up and down because of results, you can never have a consistent stance. And I’m not someone who behaves like that.”

Kohli said his preparation runs through the year and is complemented by a disciplined lifestyle that he follows “not only to play cricket.” He said that playing the 2027 World Cup would be incredible, but only if the value is “two-sided”.

“As I said, when I come to play, I know what I can deliver in terms of effort. Performance: no one can guarantee performance in any space. But in terms of effort and commitment, I know what I can deliver because I literally live my life like that.

“It’s not like I prepare for a series to suddenly start working hard two or three weeks earlier. I’m like that through the year. So, if you call me to play and if you say there’s a series coming up: I’m ready.

“I’m always ready because that’s my daily life. I work out, we eat well at home.

“It’s not just to play cricket. So, that’s where I am. I mean, this 27 (2027 World Cup) chat and all that, honestly, for me, it’s like we’re at like mid-2026.

“But I’ve been asked so many times, do you want to play 2027?

“Like, why would I leave my home, get my stuff over and be like, ‘I don’t know what I want’. Of course, if I’m playing, I want to play cricket. I want to carry on. Playing a World Cup for India is incredible.