Virat Kohli wants to win 2027 World Cup with match-winning final knock

Virat Kohli hopes to help India win the 2027 ODI World Cup, which he has described as his last. The former captain dreams of playing a match-winning knock while chasing in the final but says winning the trophy matters most

New Delhi: Virat Kohli has “unfinished business” from the 2023 ODI World Cup and hopes to end his World Cup career by helping India lift the trophy in 2027, with a dream of playing a match-winning knock in the final while chasing a target.

Kohli, who has described the 2027 edition as his “last World Cup”, said winning the trophy would matter more to him than his individual performance.

“I’ve always been someone who, in every game that we play, wants to be the guy who wins us the game. I’m made that way; that’s never going to go away from me. So, my goal is to win as many games as I can for the team, and my dream is to play a match-winning knock in the finals, while chasing a score,” Kohli said, as quoted by JioStar.

“If it happens, great. If it doesn’t happen, we win the World Cup, I’ll be as happy because eventually, you understand that, as much as that competitive nature is there, it’s the last time you’re getting to play a World Cup. So, winning that trophy is the most important thing,” he added.

Kohli said the opportunity to personally help India win a final would be deeply satisfying, but stressed that the team’s success remained the bigger objective.

“If I have the opportunity to do it, as an individual staying there out in the middle, there’s nothing more satisfying as a batsman. You visualise yourself pulling the team out of trouble. And that’s what makes you compete at this level. So, I don’t want to let go of that competitiveness. But yeah, the bigger goal is always greater,” he said.

The former India captain also opened up on the heartbreak of the 2023 ODI World Cup final, admitting that the defeat to Australia was “very tough to process for many days”.

“Before we won the IPL in 2025, I used to get flashbacks of the 2016 final. I feel the same about the World Cup final as well. I was playing on 54 and had set myself up for a big hundred; like, if I got 140-150, we would be in a great position to win that game. But as soon as I played on, it was very tough to process for many days. And you keep thinking about it,” Kohli said.

He recalled the atmosphere within India’s 2023 World Cup campaign and said the team had developed a strong belief that it could win the tournament.

“That whole World Cup was great; the environment was phenomenal. Within the team, you could see the camaraderie; everyone was happy playing for each other. Even after losing someone like Hardik early on, we never spoke about what would happen next, although it was a big loss in terms of what he brings. But Shami came, and you know what he can do. So, everyone had a feeling that it was our World Cup. There was a different energy altogether, and then when the game shifts like that, it’s very difficult to process,” he said.

Kohli, widely regarded as one of the leading batters of his generation, said he did not consider himself the best-ever player, pointing to differences between eras and the achievements of other batters.

“I don’t consider myself the best ever. Different players have existed in different times of the sport, and they’ve done some amazing things, but might not have accumulated those kind of numbers, and some have numbers which are way better than me,” he said.

Kohli said his focus throughout his career had been on making an impact and contributing to the team’s success.

“But eventually, the end goal has always been to contribute towards the betterment of the team and take the team towards the result that we want. As long as that answer is yes, and you mix up experience, your fitness, game awareness and motivation all together. So, I’m blessed that it’s still there, and I continue to be excited to play for the country, which is a great honour,” he added.