Three weeks after India’s ICC Champions Trophy 2025 victory in Dubai, Virat Kohli has revealed that his next major goal is to help India lift the 2027 ICC ODI World Cup. The tournament will be held in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia, and Kohli’s declaration firmly puts to rest any speculation about his immediate retirement. Despite talks of senior players stepping back from the format, Kohli confirmed that he has no plans to retire from ODIs anytime soon.
During an event in Mumbai ahead of the IPL 2025 clash between Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Gujarat Titans (GT), Virat Kohli was asked about his next big step. His response was straightforward and received an enthusiastic cheer from the crowd: “I don’t know, but maybe try to win the next World Cup,” he said.
The announcement is significant, especially as India prepares for an important international calendar. Following IPL 2025, India will tour England for a five-match Test series starting June 20, marking the beginning of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-27 cycle. Later, India will play a three-match ODI series in Australia beginning October 19, a key series leading into the 2027 ODI World Cup.
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Last month, Kohli had expressed that he may not feature in India’s next Border-Gavaskar Trophy series in 2024-25, citing a lack of satisfaction with his previous tour to Australia, where India lost 3-1. However, the 36-year-old has come to terms with the loss, acknowledging that not every tour is an opportunity to correct past mistakes.
Question: Seeing In The Present, Any Hints About The Next Big Step?
Virat Kohli Said: The Next Big Step? I Don’t Know. Maybe Try To Win The Next World Cup 2027.🏆🤞 pic.twitter.com/aq6V9Xb7uU
— virat_kohli_18_club (@KohliSensation) April 1, 2025
“If you ask me the intensity of how disappointed I’ve been… for me, the most recent Australia tour would be the one that’s most fresh. So, it might feel the most intense to me. But I can’t look at it that way. I might not have an Australia tour again in me in four years’ time,” Virat Kohli had said during an RCB event. “I don’t have the chance to correct it. So you have to make peace with whatever’s happened in your life,” he added.
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Kohli’s performance in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 further cemented his importance to India, as he finished as the second-highest run-scorer on challenging, bowling-friendly pitches in Dubai. His stellar performance in the 2023 World Cup, where he scored 765 runs across 11 innings at an average of 95.62, set a new record for the most runs in a single ODI World Cup edition, surpassing the legendary Sachin Tendulkar’s tally.
Looking ahead, if Kohli plays in the 2027 ODI World Cup, he will have the chance to break Tendulkar’s all-time record for most runs in ODI World Cup history. With 1,795 runs from 37 innings, Kohli needs 484 more runs to surpass Tendulkar’s tally of 2,278 runs from 44 innings.
