Virat Kohli has confirmed that next year's 50-over World Cup will be his last for India, setting up an emotional farewell campaign at the tournament to be jointly hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia in October-November 2027.
Kohli told broadcaster JioStar on Saturday that the 2027 edition would be his final World Cup appearance for India, saying the knowledge that it was his last one was driving him and that his aim was to give everything he had to help the team win the trophy.
Kohli, the leading century-maker in one-day internationals with 54 hundreds, has already retired from T20 internationals and Test cricket and now represents India only in the 50-over format. He has scored 14,941 ODI runs, second only to Sachin Tendulkar's 18,426. He won the World Cup on home soil in 2011 and endured the heartbreak of the 2023 final defeat to Australia. The 2027 edition will be his fifth ODI World Cup.
The toughest challenge in cricket
Kohli described a 50-over World Cup as among the most demanding challenges in the sport, noting that it requires sustaining T20-level intensity across some 10 matches over the course of a tournament. He said the task was made harder by the 2027 edition being played away from home, with foreign conditions taking a heavy toll on players.
Former captain Rohit Sharma, who like Kohli now plays only ODIs for India, said he remained fully motivated by the prospect of another World Cup campaign. Rohit said the idea that his job was done would never enter his mind, adding that there was always something to look forward to while still playing and that he was looking ahead to the World Cup.
Both Kohli and Rohit were named in India's squad for the three-match ODI series against the West Indies, with the opening match scheduled in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday — the first stop on the road that, for Kohli, now has a clearly defined end point.
Sources:
Kohli says 2027 World Cup will be his last for India — Reuters
Kohli told broadcaster JioStar on Saturday that the 2027 edition would be his final World Cup appearance for India, saying the knowledge that it was his last one was driving him and that his aim was to give everything he had to help the team win the trophy.
Kohli, the leading century-maker in one-day internationals with 54 hundreds, has already retired from T20 internationals and Test cricket and now represents India only in the 50-over format. He has scored 14,941 ODI runs, second only to Sachin Tendulkar's 18,426. He won the World Cup on home soil in 2011 and endured the heartbreak of the 2023 final defeat to Australia. The 2027 edition will be his fifth ODI World Cup.
The toughest challenge in cricket
Kohli described a 50-over World Cup as among the most demanding challenges in the sport, noting that it requires sustaining T20-level intensity across some 10 matches over the course of a tournament. He said the task was made harder by the 2027 edition being played away from home, with foreign conditions taking a heavy toll on players.
Former captain Rohit Sharma, who like Kohli now plays only ODIs for India, said he remained fully motivated by the prospect of another World Cup campaign. Rohit said the idea that his job was done would never enter his mind, adding that there was always something to look forward to while still playing and that he was looking ahead to the World Cup.
Both Kohli and Rohit were named in India's squad for the three-match ODI series against the West Indies, with the opening match scheduled in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday — the first stop on the road that, for Kohli, now has a clearly defined end point.
Sources:
Kohli says 2027 World Cup will be his last for India — Reuters
