Virat Kohli revealed having a hard-hitting discussion with former India's head coach Rahul Dravid on the timing of his retirement and future plans. However, Virat Kohli for now firmly dismissed any rumours or speculation regarding his immediate retirement from international cricket, but there was a time when he had to reach out to Dravid to talk about the most important decision of his cricketing career.
Virat Kohli opens on up retirement discussion with Rahul Dravid
Kohli admitted that he was once engaged in discussions with Dravid about the appropriate timing for his eventual retirement, indicating a thoughtful and planned approach to the latter stages of his career. Dravid simply advised Kohli to figure out where he is placed in his life
"The competitive streak doesn’t allow you to find the answer [for retirement]. I had a very interesting conversation with Rahul Dravid. He said you always have to stay in touch with yourself. Figure out where you are placed in your life, and the answer is not that easy," Kohli said at the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) Innovation Lab Indian Sports Summit.
Kohli all but confirmed that the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-2025 was his last Australia tour.
"I might not have another Australia tour in me, so I am at peace with whatever happened in the past," he added.
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He regretted not performing in the five-match contest and also opened up on experiencing the most intense disappointment Down Under.
“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. I don't have the chance to correct it. So you have to make peace with whatever's happened in your life. Like in 2014 (against England) I still had the chance to go in 2018 and do what I did. It might not have been the case,” he added,” Kohli further stated.
“Once you start thinking of the disappointment from the outside, then you start burdening yourself way more. That's something that I've surely experienced in Australia as well. Because I got a good score in the first Test. I thought, right, let's go. There's going to be another big series for me. It didn't turn out that way. How do you cope up with this? For me, it's just about acceptance. This is what happened. I'm going to be honest with myself,” Kohli continued.
However, in the end he made it all clear that he is not making announcement anytime soon and said he still loves playing the game.
"Don’t get nervous. I’m not making any announcements. As of now, everything is fine. I still love playing the game. It pretty much comes down to just the pure joy, enjoyment, competitive streak, and love for the game. And as long as that is there, I will continue to play. As I said today, I am not playing for any achievement," Kohli concluded.
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