Virat Kohli Says 2027 ODI World Cup Will Be His Last for India

Speaking to broadcaster JioStar ahead of a home ODI series against West Indies, Virat Kohli said on Friday that the 2027 ODI World Cup, with South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia sharing hosting duties, will mark his final tournament for India.¹⁴⁶

The announcement

Kohli made the disclosure in an interview with JioStar before India's three-match ODI series against West Indies, which opened in Thiruvananthapuram. He said the tournament would be his fifth World Cup appearance and confirmed it would be his last for the national side.¹²⁴⁶

He explained that his drive stems from knowing this will be his final World Cup appearance for India, saying it pushes him to give everything he has on the field. He added that winning the tournament remains the ultimate aim, and that he is fully prepared to do whatever is required to achieve it.⁴

According to ESPNcricinfo, Kohli has described the assignment as "unfinished business" following India's defeat to Australia in the 2023 World Cup final, a loss the outlet said was later offset in his own account by Royal Challengers Bangalore's 2025 Indian Premier League title.⁸

A long career in white-ball cricket

Sports Tak reported that Kohli, whose ODI career began in 2008, has since stepped away from Test and T20 international cricket and now features for India solely in one-day matches. He helped India lift the 2011 World Cup under Mahendra Singh Dhoni, guided the team to the last four of the 2019 edition in England and Wales, and was subsequently stripped of the ODI captaincy in December 2021, Sports Tak said.³¹⁶

Al Jazeera noted that no batter has scored more ODI centuries than Kohli's 54, and that his tally of 14,941 runs trails only Sachin Tendulkar's 18,426. The International Cricket Council put his career record at 14,941 runs across 302 innings, an average of 58.59, comprising 54 centuries and 79 half-centuries, figures the Tribune also referenced. Restricting the count to World Cup fixtures alone, the ICC recorded 37 ODI appearances for Kohli yielding 1,795 runs at 59.83, including five centuries and 12 half-centuries.¹⁵²

Kohli spoke of the physical demands of the format, explaining that a 50-over World Cup places more strain on players than any other tournament since it effectively compresses ten matches into T20-level intensity, likening a single day's play to roughly two and a half T20 games.⁵⁴

Leadership and team continuity

According to the Tribune, Kohli said his conversations with Rohit Sharma, who captained India in the 2023 World Cup final defeat, have centred on taking Indian cricket forward. The two have shared India's dressing room through successive leadership eras: Kohli took over Test captaincy from Dhoni in 2014 and limited-overs leadership in 2017, while Rohit was named India's all-format captain in 2022. Both players have since stepped back from Tests and T20Is, remaining active for India exclusively in one-day cricket, while Shubman Gill has taken charge as ODI captain.²

Kohli said, "When you have played for so long and you have been in leadership positions respectively for India, the goal is always that, as a senior player, you would bounce off things with your captain." Rohit added, "And I'm looking forward to the World Cup, looking at what lies ahead for me," and noted that ICC tournaments carry "its own unique challenge, because you face different opponents, you play at different venues."²⁴

Reaction and what lies ahead

Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi said Kohli and Rohit remain central to India's batting. "It's a fact that Virat and Rohit are the backbone of the Indian batting line-up," he said, adding, "The way they have played in the recent ODI series makes it clear they can continue until the 2027 World Cup," and suggesting India "preserve both these stars" by resting them against weaker opposition. Afridi also criticised India head coach Gautam Gambhir, suggesting that Gambhir began his tenure convinced he alone had the right approach, before gradually coming to accept that he was not always correct.⁷

Per the Tribune, India's preparation for the tournament will feature the current West Indies series, followed by five ODIs versus New Zealand and three against Sri Lanka before year's end, plus three matches against Zimbabwe early in 2027. The ICC is scheduled to announce the full 2027 World Cup fixture list on October 1, ESPNcricinfo reported, with the tournament itself set for October and November 2027 across 12 venues in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.²⁸³