Virat Kohli opens up about spending the last few months in the UK, says, ‘Just being able to …’
New Delhi: Star India legendary cricketer Virat Kohli made his long-awaited return to the Indian team, but unfortunately was dismissed for an eight-ball duck against Australia in the first ODI of the three-match series on Sunday. Ahead of the toss at Perth, Kohli had a candid conversation with former India coach Ravi Shastri and Australian great Adam Gilchrist, discussing his retirement from two formats, time spent with family in the United Kingdom, and his plans for the future.
During the conversation, Kohli was asked about his time in the past four to five months, which he mostly spent in the United Kingdom with his wife, Anushka Sharma, and their children. After the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) season with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) ended in May, he headed straight to the UK and only returned to India shortly before flying out to Australia.
Kohli opened up about his last few months in the UK
“Yeah, as I was just saying, just catching up on life. You know, I haven’t been able to do anything for the last, I don’t know how many years. And yeah, just being able to spend some time, some quality time with your kids, with family at home, it’s been a beautiful, beautiful phase, and something that I’ve really enjoyed. I am feeling fresh, looking fresh and fit – moving well in nets and fielding sessions,” Kohli said ahead of the start of the match.
“I played the most number of games in international cricket over the last fifteen years,” Kohli further reflected on his decision to step away from both Test cricket and T20Is.
Kohli revealed his drive to succeed in Australia was inspired by Sachin Tendulkar
When questioned about facing Australia, a team Kohli usually perform well against. The star batsman revealed that his drive to succeed in Australia was inspired by watching legends like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, and Virender Sehwag thrive in the country’s tough conditions when he was first getting into cricket.
“Well, you know, growing up watching cricket as a kid, you know, when we used to wake up early in the morning and watch daylight cricket in Australia, you’d see the ball flying off the pitch and, you know, the opposition in your face. And I used to feel like, wow, if I’d be able to step up in these conditions and against this opposition, that’d be something that I could be really proud of as a cricketer.”
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