Virat Kohli has said that next year's 50-overs World Cup would be his last for India and he is ready to give his all to help lift the trophy. Kohli, the leading century-maker in ODIs with 54 hundreds, retired from T20 internationals and Test cricket earlier and now represents India only in the 50-over format.
The 37-year-old batter, who has scored 14,941 runs in one-day internationals, second only to Sachin Tendulkar's 18,426, won the World Cup on home soil in 2011 before suffering defeat in the 2023 final against Australia. The 2027 edition, to be jointly hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia in October to November, will be Kohli's fifth ODI World Cup.
"For me, it's the last World Cup I'm going to play for India," Kohli told broadcaster JioStar on Saturday. "That is my motivation and like, you know, to leave everything out there. And of course, the goal is absolutely to win the World Cup and whatever it takes, I'm absolutely ready."
Former captain Rohit Sharma, who also plays only ODIs for India, said he remained fully motivated by the prospect of another World Cup campaign. Kohli and Rohit were both named in India's squad for the three-match ODI series against West Indies, with the opening match to be played in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday.