A year out from the 2027 ODI World Cup, Virat Kohli has already defined what would make his final World Cup with India a fitting one: winning it. Now a one-format international player, Kohli will hope to sign off from the ODI World Cup the way he began that journey, in 2011. But the motivation is rooted as much in what lies ahead as what happened in the last edition.
India came within one game of the title in 2023, only to lose the final to Australia in Ahmedabad. For Kohli, there is still a sense of unfinished business – and the chance to put that right in what will be his final World Cup. “It’s the last World Cup I’m going to play for India, and that is my motivation – to leave everything out there,” Virat Kohli said in an interview with JioHotstar. “The goal is absolutely to win the World Cup. And whatever it takes, I’m absolutely ready.”
Kohli admitted that the way India’s near-flawless 2023 campaign ended was a particularly painful memory, given the tournament he had personally [Player of the Tournament] as well as the way India had had strung 10 impressive wins on the bounce leading into the final.
“Before we [Royal Challengers Bengaluru] won the IPL in 2025, I used to get flashbacks of the 2016 final [lost to SRH]. I feel the same about the World Cup final as well,” Kohli said. “I was playing on 54 and had set myself up for a big hundred; like, if I got 140-150, we would be in a great position to win that game, because you’re getting 300-plus in a big final, and with our bowling, we will get them. But as soon as I played on [to Pat Cummins], it was very tough to process for many days. And you keep thinking about it.
“That whole World Cup was great, the environment was phenomenal. Within the team, you could see the camaraderie; everyone was happy playing for each other. Even losing someone like Hardik [Pandya] early on [to injury], we never spoke about what would happen next, although it was a big loss in terms of what he brings. But [Mohammed] Shami came and tap-tap-tap – you know what he can do. So, everyone had a feeling that it was our World Cup. There was a different energy altogether, and then when the game shifts like that, it’s very difficult to process.”
Kohli’s ambition for 2027 extends beyond simply being part of a successful campaign. He dreams of playing a decisive role in the final, though for him, the trophy will still matter more than how he contributes to getting there
“I’ve always been someone who, every game that we play I want to be the guy who wins us the game – so that’s never going to go away from me. I am made that way,” Kohli said. “So my goal [at the World Cup] is to win as many games as I can for the team – 60-70% of the games would be phenomenal. My dream is to play a match-winning, finishing knock in the finals, like chasing a score. That’s the ideal scenario. If it happens, great. If it doesn’t happen, we win the World Cup, I’ll be as happy.
“It’s the last time you’re getting to play a World Cup. So just getting that trophy is the most important thing. If I have the opportunity to do it as an individual staying there out in the middle, there’s nothing more satisfying as a batsman. That drives us – to be the guy who makes an impact. Situation difficult; you visualise yourself pulling the team out of trouble. And that’s what makes you compete. So I don’t want to let go of that competitiveness.”
Kohli put behind the disappointment of missing out on that 2023 World Cup by playing a key role in the final of the 2024 T20 World Cup. Not long after that he turned into a one-format player, and the freedom of playing only ODI cricket internationally appears to have brought another dimension to Kohli’s game. His ODI average stood at a staggering 58.18 at the end of 2024 and has since risen to 58.59, with Kohli scoring at 64.68 during this period. His strike rate has also climbed from 93.54 to 99.80.
Kohli attributed that change largely to a conscious decision to play more freely and take greater risks when the situation allows. “What’s changed is, firstly, I promised to myself that I’m going to play more freely,” he said. “I’m not going to worry about the expectations that people might have around me.
“Because my role always had been for a long period of time that he’s going to stabilise things, right? What happens is I know I can play, like I know I can hit shots, but [say] you’re playing on a tricky pitch, and you try to do something extravagant and you survive. Immediately there’s a [player coming out with a drink saying], ‘you play, keep going’.
“This time, I’m making a conscious effort that if I’m set, to make a difference in the game, get 30-40 extra runs. I want to be in a space where if I am choosing not to take a risk, it’s because I’m setting up eventually to get to a point where I say, ‘okay, now press the accelerator down’. It’s not to say ‘I’ll keep going at that rate and not accelerate at any stage and then do it at the end’. Now the game is changing in a way that especially if the conditions are fast-paced and good and other teams are looking to press you towards 340, 350, we should be able to get 350, 360 also.
“I’m very willing to take risks now because I know that [we] will get 350, 360 easy. And doing that, if I play longer, then I can hit more at the end. So I had to unlock like a little bit of that, you know, freedom in my own mind.”
