Virat Kohli will not retire after 2027 World Cup, clarifies coach

Amid speculations that Indian cricket legend Virat Kohli would retire from the One Day International (ODI) format after the 2027 World Cup, his childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma has made a significant clarification. According to a report by ABP Asmita, coach Rajkumar Sharma clarified that Virat Kohli will not retire after the 2027 World Cup. This statement has raised hopes that Kohli's ODI career will continue, which is considered good news for his fans.

Rajkumar Sharma spoke about 'King Kohli' during an event organised at the Delhi and District Cricket Association. Virat Kohli is currently 38 years old and will be 39 by the time of the next World Cup. Discussions regarding his retirement were ongoing due to his increasing age. On this matter, coach Rajkumar Sharma, quoting Virat's words, stated, "Virat said that this would be his last World Cup, not his last match for India." The coach further explained that Virat said this because the World Cup is not held every year, but comes once every four years.

Looking at Virat Kohli's current international status, he is currently playing for India only in the ODI format. He announced his retirement from T20 International cricket in 2024 and from Test cricket in 2025. For these reasons, discussions had begun that he would also retire from ODIs after the 2027 World Cup, but his coach's recent statement has put an end to these speculations.

Currently, Virat Kohli is playing in the ODI series against New Zealand. Speaking of his performance in this series, he played a brilliant innings of 74 runs in the first match. However, in the second match, he was out after scoring only 7 runs. The third match of the series was washed out due to rain, because of which Kohli did not get a chance to bat.

Virat Kohli's statistics in his international career so far are very impressive. He has played a total of 320 ODI matches in his career. In 307 ODI innings, he has scored a total of 15190 runs with an average of 48.69 and a high score of 183, including 55 centuries and 80 half-centuries.

Regarding Test cricket, Kohli has played 123 Test matches. In 210 Test innings, he has recorded 9230 runs at an average of 46.85, including 30 centuries and 31 half-centuries. While in the T20 International format, he has played 125 matches. In 117 T20 innings, he has scored 4188 runs at an average of 48.69 and a strike rate of 137.04.

Thus, according to Virat Kohli's childhood coach, the 2027 World Cup may be the last World Cup for him, but it will not be his last match for India. Therefore, he may continue to represent India in ODI cricket even after 2027.