"Virat Kohli on Retirement: Fans Won’t Believe What He Said!"

Virat Kohli on Retirement: Once I'm Done, I'll Be Gone. You Won't See Me for a While

For the first time, Virat Kohli has talked about retirement, and it's a very emotional topic.

For the last five or six years of his career, Sachin Tendulkar was often asked about retirement. People focused more on his age than his performance or fitness. This is common for top athletes, especially in Indian cricket. Tendulkar wasn't the first, and he won't be the last. Just ask Virat Kohli.

Kohli, playing for Royal Challengers Bengaluru, has shown no signs of slowing down. He's past the rough patch that fueled doubters a few years ago. Even his harshest critics can't question his physical fitness. Yet, there's always a hint of speculation whenever Kohli speaks.

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How long can he continue? How long will the runs keep coming? Is he still eager for runs? The questions may vary, but the essence is the same. Kohli, like Tendulkar and other top athletes, knows this well.

He often reassures the world that he's far from done. But he's also realistic about the end approaching.

"As sportsmen, we do have an end date to our careers. I'm just working backward," Kohli said at an RCB event.

'I don’t want to finish my career leaving unfinished business': Virat Kohli

Is the end near? Yes. Has Kohli set a timeline for it? No. He knows one thing: whenever he retires, he will have no regrets as a cricketer. Everyone knows this. In Kohli's world, half-hearted doesn't exist. He's either all in or not at all.

"I don't want to finish my career thinking about what if I had done this on that day. I can't go on forever. It's about not leaving any unfinished business and not having any regrets later, which I'm sure I won't," Kohli said with a smile, though his words stirred his fans' emotions.

He made another promise to the fans: "Once I'm done, I'll be gone. You won't see me for a while, so I want to give everything I have until I play. That's what keeps me going," Kohli said.

It's hard to imagine Kohli away from the spotlight. His presence is so strong that lying low isn't an option. But maybe that's just Kohli the cricketer. As he said, when he finally leaves the game, a quieter version of him might emerge.

For Indian cricket fans, the later this version of Kohli appears, the better. The current Kohli is far from done. Scoring 661 runs at an average of 66 with a strike rate of 155 in IPL 2024 is proof. But does Kohli need to prove anything to anyone? Maybe to himself, every time he steps on the field. For the fans, it is, was, and will be a delight to watch one of the greats play.