‘I’ve not rested at all over the last 15–20 years,’ says Kohli on return to international cricket

Virat Kohli said he feels “fitter than ever” as he returned to international cricket for the first time since India’s Champions Trophy win. The former captain said he hasn’t truly rested in 15–20 years of continuous cricket.

Perth: Virat Kohli made his return to international cricket for the first time since India’s Champions Trophy victory, as the Men in Blue face hosts Australia in the opening ODI of the three-match series at Optus Stadium.

Ahead of the first game, Kohli, who has reitred from the T20Is and Test cricket, mentioned that he has kept himself fit despite a long gap in playing.

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Speaking to Fox Sports during a chat with Ravi Shastri and Adam Gilchrist before the first ODI, the former India captain said, “Well, to be honest, the amount of cricket I’ve played over the last 15-20 years, I’ve actually not rested at all, if that makes sense. I’ve probably played the most number of games in the last 15 years in international cricket, combining the IPL together as well. So for me, it was a very refreshing time off.”

While many experts and pundits believed Kohli’s fitness was a concern ahead of his return to competitive cricket, the 36-year-old said that he was feeling ‘fitter than ever,’ adding that it’s all about physical preparation because mentally, he knew ‘what to do.’

“I’m feeling as fit, if not fitter than I’ve ever been before, and yeah, you can just feel the freshness when you know you can play the game, and mentally you know what to do out there it’s just the physical preparation that really needs to be taken care of,” he added.

“At this stage I realised that if my body is fit, if my reflexes are there then the game awareness is already there, my body has to match up with it and that’s something that I try to keep up with, I live my life like that and yeah no issues at all, I’m feeling fresh here coming into Australia and moving really well in the nets and in the fiddling sessions as well so all good so far,” Kohli remarked.

Kohli announced his T20I retirement last year following India’s victory at the ICC T20 World Cup. Earlier this year, he also retired from Test cricket, putting an end to a memorable and remarkable career.