Virat Kohli Breaks Silence On Playing Just One Format: 'Played Most Number Of Games, Haven't Rested At All'

Virat Kohli is relishing time away from cricket ever since announcing retirement from Tests and T20Is. The batting superstar made his international return in Perth on Sunday morning but made an eight-ball

duck with old nemesis Mitchell Starc sending him back. Before Perth, Kohli’s last ODI appearance was the Champions Trophy final in March while the IPL final in June was his last competitive appearance.

In his first interview in months, Kohli touched upon the fact how he has played the most number of matches in international cricket since his debut and hasn’t found time to rest per se.

“Well, to be honest, I mean the amount of cricket I’ve played over the last 15-20 years, I’ve actually not rested at all, if that makes sense. I’ve probably played the most number of games in the last 15 years in international cricket, combining the IPL together as well. So, for me, it was a very refreshing time off,” Kohli said on Sunday.

Kohli made his international debut in 2008 and since then, has played a whopping 551 matches across formats, which is the highest among any player during this period. His India teammate Rohit Sharma, who also made his competitive return today, is second with 471 matches while Sri Lanka all-rounder Angelo Mathews completes the top three with 435 matches.

“I’m feeling as fit, if not fitter than I’ve ever been before. You can just feel the freshness when you know you can play the game and mentally you know what to do out there. It’s just the physical preparation that really needs to be taken care of at this stage,” Kohli said.

“I realised that if my body is fit, if my reflexes are there, then the game awareness is already there. My body has to match up with it and that’s something that I try to keep up with. I live my life like that and yeah, no issues at all. I’m feeling fresh here coming into Australia and moving really well in the nets and in the fielding sessions as well. So all good so far,” he added.