Virat Kohli on WC 2027: 'Of course I want to carry on, playing a World Cup for India is amazing'

Virat Kohli has opened up on his desire to play the 2027 ODI World Cup, saying that he wants to carry on, "not to prove anything to anyone", but because he's still heavily invested in the game.

Featuring on the RCB podcast, Kohli talked about fitting back into the ODI squad, saying he was only playing the game because his love for it is still intact. However, he added that, despite his commitment, if he must prove his "worth and value" for the team, "that place is not meant to be for me".

"My perspective is very clear," Kohli says. "If I can add value to the environment that I'm a part of and the environment feels like I can add value, I'll be seen. If I'm made to feel like I need to prove my worth and my value, I'm not in that space."

"I put my head down, I work hard. When I arrive to play, I put my head down, I work as hard if not harder than anyone else. You want me to run boundary to boundary for 40 overs in an ODI game, I will do that without a complaint. After operating like this, if I have to be in a place where I have to prove my worth and value, that place is not meant to be for me."

Already retired from Test and T20I cricket, there's plenty of anticipation around Kohli's future path. Over the last two years, he has been in fine touch in the one-day format, scoring three hundreds and averaging 65.10 in 2025. This year, he averages 80 from three ODIs.

Kohli's keenness to continue in the format took him back to domestic cricket, where he made a rare appearance for Delhi in the 2025/26 Vijay Hazare Trophy, scoring 131 and 77 in two games.

"That's how I played Vijay Hazare as well. It was amazing," Kohli says. "The moment my intention switched to 'I want to play because I love playing. I just love batting. And I just want to focus on that'. I fielded the whole game and I was diving around and I felt like a child again."

Kohli said his preparation runs through the year and is complemented by a disciplined lifestyle that he follows "not only to play cricket". He said that playing the 2027 World Cup would be amazing, but only if the value is "two-sided".

"As I said, when I come to play, I know what I can deliver in terms of effort. Performance: no one can guarantee performance in any space. But in terms of effort and commitment, I know what I can deliver because I literally live my life like that."

"Of course, if I'm playing, I want to play cricket. I want to carry on. Playing a World Cup for India is amazing. But as I said, the value has to be two-sided."