Virat Kohli Says The 2027 World Cup Will Be His Last For India

Virat Kohli has named his last tournament. The 2027 World Cup will be his final one for India. He said so on Saturday in an interview with the broadcaster JioStar. Kohli is 37. The fifty over tournament runs across October and November 2027 and is shared between South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.

It will be his fifth. The ICC counts four previous appearances, and he was part of the side that won in 2011. Kohli plays only one day cricket for India now. He gave up Test cricket and Twenty20 internationals before this season. That leaves a single format and a finite number of matches in it.

Kohli’s words to JioStar

He was asked about motivation. The answer came without hedging.

"For me, it’s the last World Cup I’m going to play for India. That is my motivation and like, you know, to leave everything out there," he said. He then turned to the physical demand of the format. "The intensity of a 50-over World Cup is greater than anything. Because now, it’s about 10 games at a Twenty20 level of intensity."

He put a figure on the workload inside a single day. "But you are playing 2.5 T20 games in one day. And to maintain that intensity for 10 games in a big tournament and World Cup is a big deal." The ICC separately quoted him on the target. "The goal is absolutely to win the World Cup. And whatever it takes, I’m absolutely ready."

The one day ledger he takes into 2027

Career figures published by the ICC set out what he carries into the tournament.

• 1,795 runs at the ODI World Cup at an average of 59.83
• Five centuries at the tournament
• 14,941 one day international runs from 302 innings at 58.59
• 54 one day hundreds, more than any other batter has made
• One winner’s medal, from 2011

Sachin Tendulkar’s 18,426 one day runs sit above him. On the published totals that is a gap of 3,485. Kohli has not framed the chase in those terms in public. The 2027 window gives him a limited number of innings to close on it, and he has said nothing about wanting more than the trophy.

Rohit Sharma gives a different answer

India’s other senior one day batter was asked something similar. He declined to set an end point. "The thought will never cross my mind that the business I had is finished. As long as you’re playing, there is always something to look forward to," Rohit Sharma said.

He is in the squad for the West Indies series too. Like Kohli, he now plays only one day cricket for India. The two of them have shaped the top order for more than a decade. Only one of them has put a date on the finish.

The contrast is useful for the selectors. One senior batter has given them a horizon to plan against. The other has not, and does not have to. India can build a 2027 top order knowing when one slot opens and not knowing when the other does.

The tournament moves to Africa

The 2027 edition is shared between three host nations. South Africa carries the bulk of it. Zimbabwe and Namibia also stage matches. That arrangement matters to the players as much as to the boards. Conditions vary across the three countries, and travel is heavier than at a single host tournament.

The October to November window sits at the start of the southern African season rather than in the middle of it. Early season pitches in the region tend to offer the seamers more. A batter in his late thirties will have thought about it.

Thiruvananthapuram starts the countdown

India play three one day internationals against West Indies. The series begins on Sunday at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram. Kohli is in the squad. So is Rohit.

Every one day international from here is part of the run in. India have a home season and an away programme to get through before the squad for 2027 is settled. Kohli has told everyone what he is aiming at. The selectors now have a fixed point to plan around.