Virat Kohli, the star player of the Indian national cricket team, stated that his wish is to have a winning game in the World Cup final. This experienced player simultaneously emphasized that India's ultimate goal is to win the title of this prestigious global tournament. Kohli made these remarks ahead of the new season of home ODI matches against the West Indies.
Competition and Big Aspirations
Kohli, in an interview with the media, referred to his competitive spirit and expressed that he has always wanted to be a player who leads his team to victory. He said: "I have always been someone who wants to win in every game. This is my trait and it will never leave me. Therefore, my goal is to win as much as possible for the team, and my wish is to have a winning game in the final."
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The Importance of Winning
This 37-year-old player also referred to the importance of winning the World Cup and added: "If that happens, it would be great. But if it doesn't happen and we become champions, I will also be very happy. In the end, you realize that this is the last time you are playing in a World Cup. Therefore, winning this title is more important than anything else."
Kohli, reflecting on his past experiences in the World Cup, noted that he has been in two World Cup finals and helped India become champions in 2011, but lost to Australia in the 2023 final.
He also mentioned that he has retired from T20 and Test matches and is only active in ODIs. Kohli has shown good performance earlier this year, scoring 384 runs in six matches with an average of 64, which includes one century and three half-centuries.
Kohli now has 85 international centuries and 41 centuries at home, and is only 110 runs away from breaking Sachin Tendulkar's record of 6,976 ODI runs at home.
Preparation for the World Cup
The Indian ODI team for the series against the West Indies includes Shubman Gill (captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ruturaj Gaikwad, KL Rahul (vice-captain), Dhruv Jurel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar, Mohammed Siraj, Aaqib Nabi, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Naman Dhir.
India will also play five ODIs in New Zealand and three matches against Sri Lanka later this year, and at the beginning of 2027, they will have three ODIs against Zimbabwe as part of their preparation for the World Cup.
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