Legendary India batter Virat Kohli has poured cold water on rumors suggesting he was considering retiring from international cricket.
Kohli has not been in the best of form of late, particularly in the longer format of the game in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia before the ICC Champions Trophy.
This has led rumors to develop that King Kolhi might be considering retiring from Test cricket to focus on the shorter formats of the game.
However, he has moved quickly to dispel any suggestion that he might be hanging up his boots any time soon.
“Don’t get nervous, I’m not making an announcement. It pretty much comes down to just the pure joy, enjoyment, and love for the game. As long as that is intact, I will continue to play,” Kohli said, according to Cricket Times.
“Once you start thinking about disappointment from an external perspective, you burden yourself unnecessarily. I experienced this in Australia as well.
“I got a good score in the first Test, and I thought, ‘Right, here we go—another big series for me.’ But things didn’t go as planned. So, how do you deal with that? For me, it’s all about acceptance. This is what happened, and I need to be honest with myself.”
With some worried that prolonging his career might impact his legacy if his average drops too much, he explained he is no longer driven by milestones and personal achievements and is instead focusing on the thrill of competition.
“The competitive streak inside you doesn’t allow you to find the answer easily. I had a very interesting conversation with Rahul Dravid, and he told me that you always need to stay in touch with yourself. Figure out where you are in life because the answer is not that simple,” he said.
