India batting superstar Virat Kohli shut down retirement rumours after India beat New Zealand by four wickets in the final of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
Kohli, who clinched his fourth ICC title as a player, said that the Indian team was in good hands but didn’t mention anything that was suggestive of retirement.
“I try to speak to these guys (youngsters), try to share my experience, tell them how I’ve played for so long. When you leave, you want to leave in a better position. So many impactful knocks [Shubman] Gill, Shreyas [Iyer], [KL] Rahul, have played. The team is in good hands,” he said.
The 36-year-old also acknowledged that the team was hungry to succeed after facing defeat in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series against Australia, which ended in January.
“… We wanted to bounce back after a tough Australia tour. Lovely playing with a bunch of amazing youngsters. They’re stepping up and taking India in the right direction. After playing for so long, you look forward to playing under pressure. To win titles, the whole team has to step up in different games. People have played such impactful knocks and had spells, that collective effort is what has done it for us,” Kohli added.
The former India skipper lauded New Zealand, hailing it as a very competitive unit, and said that it was sad to see his friend Kane Williamson end up on the losing side.
“We’ve always been in awe with what they [New Zealand] can do, the limited number of players in the talent pool, but they just execute plans so well, they keep playing the kind of cricket that keeps them very much in the game. They’re always been attacking and supportive of the bowlers. Credit to them, easily the best fielding unit. Sad to see a very good friend of mine [Kane Williamson] to be on the losing side, but they’re always so good and they keep doing the basics well. That’s what makes them such a competitive unit.