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Virat Kohli confirms he will play ODIs till World Cup 2027, says 'The next big step. I don't know, but maybe...'

Virat Kohli will be on another tour of Australia for the three-ODI series later this year as he has confirmed his next target is to win ODI World Cup 2027.

Sports Tak

• Tue • 01 Apr 2025

India's Virat Kohli watches the ball after playing a shot during the ICC Champions Trophy semi-final against Australia at the Dubai International Stadium in Dubai on March 4, 2025.

Highlights:

Virat Kohli holds the record for most runs in a single edition of ODI World Cup.

Kohli has unfinished businesss in ODI World Cup after India's final loss to Australia.

Kohli was India's second-highest run-scorer in ICC Champions Trophy 2025.

More than three weeks after India's ICC Champions Trophy 2025 triumph in Dubai, Virat Kohli has all but confirmed that his next target is to help India ODI World Cup in 2007. The next edition of the ODI World Cup will be played in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia. While captain Rohit Sharma had to end speculations retirement of the senior duo after final win over New Zealand, Kohli has confirmed he is not retiring from the format any time soon.

"Staying in the present. Any hints about the next big step," asked the host at an event in Mumbai ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 clash against Gujarat Titans (GT) at M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru on April 2..

"The next big step. I don't know, but maybe try to win the next World Cup," Kohli replied as the crowd started applauding and cheering him.

After the IPL 2025, India will tour England for a five-Test series starting June 20 to kick-off their World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-27 cycle. After the Test series at home against West Indies, India's promiment ODI series will be on Australian soil. India are scheduled to play a three-ODI series in Australia starting October 19.

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Last month, Kohli had said that he may not be on India's next tour to Australia for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. He revealed that he has made peace with a lacklustre tour of Australia where India lost 3-1.

"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,” the 36-year-old revealed at 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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However, he shrugged off an ordinary run in Australia by becoming India's second-highest run-scorer in ICC Champions Trophy 2025 on bowling-friendly pitches in Dubai.

Kohli's ODI World Cup record

In the previous edition in 2023, Kohli scored 765 runs from 11 innings at an average of 95.62, including three centuries and six fifties. This is the most runs by a player in a single ODI World Cup edition. He broke legendary Sachin Tendulkar's record.

If Kohli plays in ODI World Cup 2027, he will have a chance to break Tendulkar's all-time record for most runs in ODI World Cup history. Tendulkar has 2,278 runs from 44 innings whereas Kohli has 1,795 runs from 37 innings. Kohli needs 484 more runs to take the top spot.