Will play all three formats for at least three more years: Virat Kohli

Team India captain Virat Kohli is one of the few cricketers in the world who are regular in all three formats of the game. Add to it the pressure of expectations of being the premier batsman and captain of a cricket-mad nation, and it can be easily fathomed the magnitude of pressure (physical +mental) that the legendary batsman has to endure.

Kohli, 31, has been playing all the three formats of the game for nine years now and he has now revealed that he has intentions of playing all the three formats for ‘at least three years’ following which he might reassess the workload amid the ‘transition process’ setting in.

With back-to-back T20 World Cups (2020 & 2021) and a 50-over World Cup (2023) on the horizon in the next three years, the Indian captain is looking at the big picture.

“My mindset is on the bigger picture as I prepare myself for a rigorous three years from now and after that, we might have a different conversation,” Kohli was quoted as saying by Sportstar when asked if he is considering quitting at least one format of the game post the 2021 World Cup which is scheduled to take place in India.

He added, “It’s not a conversation you can hide away from in any manner. It is around eight years now that I have been playing 300 days a year, which includes traveling and practice sessions. And intensity is right up there all the time. It does take a toll on you,” he said.

For the next two to three years I have no issues at all: Virat Kohli

Kohli, who will turn 32 later this year, has taken periodic breaks with Rohit Sharma leading the side in his absence, and the Indian captain admits that it has helped him manage his workload.

“It’s not that the players are not thinking about it all the time. We do choose to take a lot more breaks individually even though the schedule might not allow you to. Especially guys, who play all the formats. It’s not easy being captain, having that intensity in the practice sessions. It does take a toll on you. Periodic breaks seem to work pretty okay for me” he added.

However, once he reached 34 or 35, the conversation might be entirely different as he will be then looking to guide Indian cricket through the transition phase.

“At a time where the body can’t take anymore, maybe when I am 34 or 35, we will have a different conversation. For the next two to three years I have no issues at all,” he said.

“I can keep going on with the same intensity and also understand that the team wants a lot of my contribution in the next two to three years so that I can ease into another transition that we faced five-six years ago.”

Virat Kohli’s next assignment will be the two-match Test series against New Zealand in New Zealand. The first Test starts from the 21st of February at Basin Reserve in Wellington.