Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], May 15 (ANI): Iconic Indian batter Virat Kohli opened up on his future in international cricket and playing the 2027 ODI World Cup, saying that if he is made to prove his worth and value despite his dedication towards the game, the “space is not meant to be for him” and he stays ready always for a series, no matter what.
Virat was speaking on the RCB Podcast, in a video posted on the franchise’s official X handle. Third in the Orange Cap list with 484 runs in 12 innings, including a century and three fifties, Virat is currently playing international cricket as an ODI exclusive player. He retired from T20Is after winning the 2024 T20 World Cup and Tests last year before the tour of England after a long run of poor form.
With ODI being the least played format in the cricketing calendar, there has been a constant chatter about the 37-year-old’s place in the 2027 World Cup set-up, given the lack of international cricket time he gets.
Speaking on his World Cup plans and his current perspective of his place in international cricket, Virat says if he feels valued and feels he himself can add value in an environment, he is willing to play, and otherwise, “he is not in that space”.
“My perspective is very clear. If I can add value to the environment that I am a part of and the environment feels like I can add value, I will be seen. If I am made to feel like I need to prove my worth and my value, I’m not in that space. Because I am being honest to my preparation,” he said.
“I am being honest to how I approach the game. I put my head down. I work hard. I am very thankful to God for giving me everything that I have been given in my cricketing career. And I feel very blessed and grateful for the opportunity. And when I arrive to play, I put my head down.”
“I work as hard, if not harder than anyone else. And I play the game in the right way. You want me to run boundary to boundary for 40 overs in an ODI game? I will do that without a complaint. Because I prepare accordingly. I prepare for the fact that I will feel ,50 overs, every ball like it’s the last ball I’m going to play in my career. And I will bat that way. And I will run between the wickets that way. And I will do everything possible for the team. 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,” he continued.
Speaking on his return to Vijay Hazare Trophy for Delhi after two decades, which saw him score 208 runs in two appearances, including a fiery century and a fifty, he said that he approached the tournament with a thought process that he had nothing to prove to anyone, and he was playing it purely for the love of the game.
“There was not a single person at the Centre of Excellence (in Bengaluru, which hosted the matches). I have played for so long, and thought, will it be motivating enough? But 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. And I could not care. It is not like I did not feel,” he said.
Virat said that while featuring in VHT for Delhi, he “felt like a child again”.
“I was like, this is not about anyone else. This is about me and the game. And that is what it is going to be. And the moment I feel like, you know, people are trying to complicate it for me and be like, oh, but this and that. Either be clear and honest upfront or be quiet and let me play,” he added.
Virat made comparisons to a regular job, where a person is backed at one point but next week, his abilities are questioned.
“It is like, why? Either tell me on day one, I am not good enough or I am not needed. Or if you have said I am good enough and you say we are not even thinking otherwise, then be quiet. You know, then don’t,” he said.
“If you start operating up and down because of results, you can never have a consistent stance. And I’m not someone who behaves like that. As I said, when I come to play, I know what I can deliver in terms of effort, performance,” he added.
The veteran said that while nobody can guarantee performances, he is well aware the effort and commitment he puts into the game, around which he has built his lifestyle.
“I know what I can deliver because I literally live my life like that. It is not like I prepare for a series to, you know, suddenly start working hard two or three weeks before. I am like that through the year. So if you call me to play, and if you say there is a series coming up, I am ready.
“I am always ready because that’s my daily life. You know, I work out, we eat well at home. It is because I like living that way. It is not only to play cricket. So that is where I am. I mean, this 27 (2027 World Cup) chat and all that, honestly, for me, it is like, we are at like mid 26. But I’ve been asked so many times, do you want to play 27?,” he said.
“I know the answer. Like, why would I leave my home, you know, get my stuff over and be like, I don’t know what I want. 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 sides,” he said.
Virat has established himself as one of the greatest ODI batters of all time, with 14,797 runs in 311 matches and 299 innings at an average of 58.71 and a strike rate of 93.82, including 54 centuries and 77 fifties.
Despite his limited international appearances last year due to the ODI format’s lack of presence on the calendar, Virat ended as India’s top run-getter with 651 runs in 13 innings at an average of 65.10 and a strike rate of 96.10, with three centuries and four fifties. This year, he has featured in three ODIs, making 240 runs in three innings at an average of 80.00 and a strike rate of above 105, with a century and a fifty each.
After the IPL, Virat will be seen in ODIs from June 14 onwards, during the home ODIs against Afghanistan. (ANI)
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