New Delhi: Once upon a time, the lore around Virat Kohli was built on sheer volume – of runs, matches and greatness. But as Kohli moves towards the twilight of his career, where he plays only one international format, his version of Kohli is still not diminished or restrained. Instead, it is a recalibration.
Having retired from T20 Internationals in 2024, Kohli now only plays this format during the Indian Premier League. As Royal Challengers began their defence this year on Saturday, Kohli returned as if the absence between matches did not matter. He last played a T20 when RCB won the final last year, and in the tournament opener, he scored an unbeaten 69 off 38.
“The kind of scheduling that we’ve had over the last 15 years and the amount of cricket I’ve played, for me, there was always a risk of getting burnt out rather than being undercooked,” Kohli told Harsha Bhogle after the innings.
That line sits at the heart of where Kohli is in 2026. The break from regular cricket, however, isn’t a gap to be filled, but a space to be used. And he used it the way elite athletes increasingly do: to reset.
“These breaks help me mentally. I stay fresh, I stay excited. Whenever I come back to play, it’s 120%.”
The idea of rest as a performance tool is no longer radical in elite sport, but it still requires conviction to execute, especially for someone whose identity was once so tightly wound around constant involvement and consistent delivery.
Kohli’s clarity is striking. He isn’t chasing rhythm through endless game time anymore, he’s carrying it across formats. He last played in January, a three-match ODI series against New Zealand. The series, he pointed out, allowed him to maintain that momentum.
“I think the way I batted in the one-day series quite recently really helped me to stay in that same kind of momentum. I wasn’t playing shots that I don’t usually play. So I knew as long as I have the rhythm, and I’ve put enough work physically behind the scenes with my fitness, things should come together nicely. And tonight was another chance to start strong and build on this.”
In other words, the rhythm showed. There was no sense of rust, no tentative sighter phase masquerading as caution. The work, as always with Kohli, hasn’t gone anywhere. It’s just been redistributed, perhaps less visible in match minutes but more embedded in preparation and recovery.
Across sports, from tennis to football, elite athletes are extending peaks not by pushing harder, but by choosing their moments better. Kohli’s version of that is anchored in his personal understanding of burnout, mental fatigue and what it takes for him to show up fully.
R Ashwin pointed out Kohli’s drive during the match centre on Jio saying, “I find him quite bizarre at this age. I tell him this during our chats now and then. He was batting on 40-odd, there was a partnership going on, and RCB were coasting. He ran through for the first single, stopped there, and the other batter hadn’t even reached halfway, but he was already looking for a second.”
He added: “That was a 57-metre boundary on the leg side, and it shows the enthusiasm he still brings to the game. He walks the talk. It’s almost like he’s putting on a show for people to see how the game should be played: play it hard and play it the way it’s meant to be played.”
Kohli’s performance extends to knowing that he may have once been the inevitable centrepiece of every chase, but must read things differently. When Devdutt Padikkal found his rhythm early and became the aggressor during the powerplay, Kohli adjusted.
“You don’t want to just hold on to a spot; you want to keep performing and keep putting in the work for the team,” said Kohli.
“I had plans of going aggressive in the powerplay. But when I saw him play, I was like, just keep putting him back on strike… he completely took the game away from the opposition.” It’s a significant shift. He is often the loudest cheerleader for batters on the other end, but against Sunrisers Hyderabad, he showed an ease in stepping back, a confidence in letting another player own the moment, without feeling the need to reclaim it.
www.hindustantimes.com
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