India’s batting maestro Virat Kohli has playfully hinted at coming out of T20I retirement, albeit with a specific condition. While he officially retired from the shortest format following India’s T20 World Cup 2024 title triumph in Barbados on June 29, 2024, he has left a door slightly ajar. In a lighthearted remark, Kohli suggested he ‘might just’ consider reversing his T20I retirement for a single match if India end up making it to the the final of the men’s cricket event at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Cricket will make his return at Olympics after a 128-year hiatus at the 2028 Summer Games.
Virat Kohli’s popularity was one of the main reasons behind cricket’s inclusion in the 2028 Olympics!!
Thank you Virat🙏🏻❤️ pic.twitter.com/RQW8Azz9H4— 𝙎𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙫𝙖𝙨 (@ghajiniiiii) August 12, 2024
Virat Kohli take back his T20I retirement?
During an interview with former cricketer Isa Guha at a recent summit, Virat Kohli was asked about his interest in participating in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, where cricket will feature for the first time in over a century. The Olympic cricket event will be played in the T20 International format, presenting a unique opportunity for current players to compete for an Olympic medal.
In response to the query, Kohli humorously stated that he would only consider a return to T20I cricket if India were to reach the gold medal match at the Olympics.
“If india reaches the Olympics final in 2028, might just think of coming out of retirement for that one match. Winning an olympic medal would be magnificent,” Kohli said on the sidelines of Innovation Lab Indian Sports Summit, powered by Leaders.
Kohli, while discussing the broader landscape of Indian sports, paid particular attention to the progress of women’s athletics.
“They were their own catalysts and kind of put the attention onto them. I literally saw it happening like in a time span of 6-7 years. The way they started playing, you could see that belief and then people started engaging in that a lot. And eventually it got to a place where, you know, the commercials became better, money was being infused into the women’s game, and then you have the WPL,” Kohli further said.
“Looking at men for the improvement of sport in any country, it has to be a collective. Sports culture includes everyone, and women’s sport is a massive part of it and we have so much data in women’s sports, not just cricket but all the others. We are creating individual activities over the year in tennis, badminton, wrestling, boxing. So, I think it’s definitely heading in the right direction and it needs more backing and more and more infrastructure to be developed,” he added.
Kohli was instrumental in India’s winning campaign at the recently-concluded Champions Trophy 2025, where the Rohit Sharma-led team secured their third tournament title by defeating New Zealand in the final. Kohli amassed 218 runs across five matches, maintaining an impressive average of 54.50. His standout performances included a match-winning, unbeaten century against Pakistan, and a crucial 84-run innings against Australia in the semi-final.
Also Read: Sunita Williams Closer To Homecoming, NASA Launches New Mission!
