Kohli reflects on ending ICC title drought with T20 World Cup win

After years of chasing the coveted ICC Men's T20 World Cup title, Virat Kohli signed off from T20Is on the highest note possible – taking India to a long-awaited World Cup title with a match-winning knock in the final.

Having finished as the leading run-getter (741 runs) in the 2024 season of the IPL, Kohli suffered a lean run of form at the beginning of the Men’s T20 World Cup, scoring 75 runs from seven innings before turning it around with a spectacular knock in the final.

His 76 from 59 guided India towards a match-winning total, securing their first world title in the format since 2007. Kohli won the Player of the Match award for his effort.

In a detailed conversation on the RCB Podcast, Kohli opened up on his reaction to the outcome.

“We were all emotional about it because we had been trying for so long, we saw so many ups and downs," Kohli recalled.

“Personally for me, I had three back-to-back setbacks in terms of ICC tournaments – 2014 finals, 2016 semi-finals and 2017 Champions Trophy finals. And the 2015 semi-final as well.”

“I was more grateful than proud. I knew I was going to retire after that, irrespective of that [outcome], my decision was made and I was very clear that this was my last T20 tournament.”

Discussing his own effort, Kohli was pleasantly surprised to see the manner in which runs came off his willow on the day.

“And I was just grateful for the fact that I was not able to get runs through the tournament and how I was put in the pressure situation again," he said. "I was walking in with no confidence, and suddenly you get three [quick] boundaries [in the first over].

“I was like, 'What is this game?' One day you aren’t getting any runs, and then you walk into the biggest game of your career and things just start happening.”

“Then you understand, this is the amount of hard work, and then when you arrive to the ground, whatever has to take place will take place.”

Kohli’s performance was made even more special by the fact that he returned to the India T20I setup only in January 2024, having spent more than a year away from the format, since the 2022 T20 World Cup semi-final loss. At that time, there were questions around India's batting approach in the format.

Since then, Kohli has spent a considerable amount of time reworking his mindset.

“Last couple of seasons, I’ve made a conscious effort to evolve my game. I had to let go of people trying to see me [in a certain light], and just go out there and hit the ball,” he added.

The T20 World Cup final win was a personal high for Kohli, then 35, and the batter decided to call it quits from the format following the result.

While Kohli continues to shine for his franchise in the IPL, leading the run charts in the 2025 league, the batter explained his decision to retire from the format by stating that he understood that India’s next generation batters were ready to take the side’s gameplay to another level.

“The decision is taken purely understanding that there are new set of players who are more than ready," he noted. "These guys are playing a way different game than what we’ve been playing.

“And they need time, they need a two-year cycle to evolve, to handle pressure and play in different parts of the world.”