'His last World Cup and not last match' - Virat Kohli won't retire after 2027 ODI World Cup, claims childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma

'His last World Cup and not last match' - Virat Kohli won't retire after 2027 ODI World Cup, claims childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma originally appeared on Cricket News . Add Cricket News as a Preferred Source by clicking here . KEY TAKEAWAYS: Talismanic India batsman Virat Kohli won't retire after the 2027 ODI World Cup, as per coach Rajkumar Sharma. It is widely expected that senior Indian players like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli might retire from cricket after the 2027 World Cup. However, Kohli might have different objectives, given his fitness and run of form. 2027 WC will be Virat Kohli's last World Cup and not his last match for India: Rajkumar Sharma A general consensus among fans in India seems to be that the 2027 ODI World Cup, set to be held in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia in October and November next year, might be the last time senior stars like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma don the India blue. Not surprising, given that Rohit will be 40 by the time the World Cup comes along and Virat will almost be 39. However, Kohli might not be ready to call time on his career at the end of the 2027 World Cup. The Delhi-born batsman currently only plays the ODI format for India. He retired from T20Is after the 2024 T20 World Cup triumph and retired from Tests in May 2025. And Dronacharya award-winning coach Rajkumar Sharma, who is widely recognised as Kohli's first cricket coach and mentor, has stated that Kohli has hinted about continuing to play for India beyond the 2027 World Cup. MORE : Lot of coaches are afraid to point out issues to Virat Kohli - Ryan ten Doeschate Sharma stated in an interview with ANI that Kohli told him the 2027 ODI World Cup will be his final World Cup for India but did not say it will be his last match for India. "Virat (Kohli) said it would be his last World Cup, not his last match for India. Of course, he said it would be his last World Cup because World Cups don't come along every year. It only comes once in four years," Sharma revealed. Sharma has coached Kohli since he was eight years old at the West Delhi Cricket Academy. MORE: IPL 2027 trade tracker: Complete list of all player and cash deals before the IPL 2027 mini-auction Is Virat Kohli eyeing Sachin Tendulkar's record of 100 international centuries? Kohli has already established himself as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, ODI batsmen ever. He has scored 15190 runs in ODIs and is second only to Sachin Tendulkar (who has scored 18426 runs). However, he has already broken Sachin's record of 49 ODI centuries. Kohli currently has 55 ODI centuries in his tally. And Kohli's ODI runs have come at a better average (58.64) than Sachin's (44.83). If Kohli continues to play beyond the 2027 ODI World Cup, he could be thinking of playing till the 2029 ICC Champions Trophy which will be held in India. That would be give him a realistic chance of breaking Sachin's overall record of 100 international centuries. Kohli currently has 86 and needs 15 more tons to break Sachin's tally. MORE: Major ball-tampering incidents in cricket history listed: Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid to 'Sandpaper Gate' Virat Kohli's recent ODI form certainly makes a case for him to continue playing Kohli has been batting like a dream in ODI's the last 1-2 years. Focusing on just the one format, the star India batsman seems to have found second wind late on in his career. He seems to have left behind his struggles outside the off stump with the moving ball in Tests, and has completely transformed into an ODI specialist. Since 2025, Kohli has averaged over 63 in ODIs and has amassed 1284 runs and scored 5 centuries. If his form continues in this vein for another 2-3 years, Kohli has every chance of breaking the magical 100 centuries tally of Sachin Tendulkar. aFor all the latest cricket news, opinion, and commentary, and to share your voice, head to our Facebook , Instagram , and X (Twitter) pages.