Virat Kohli made his comeback to international cricket today for the first time since March 2025. Since then he retired from Test cricket and only played in the Indian Premier League (IPL). In an interaction with Fox Sports, Kohli reacted to spending time away from the game.
Virat Kohli made his comeback to international cricket after a gap of seven months today in the first ODI against Australia at the Optus Stadium in Perth. However, his return didn’t go as planned with Mitchell Starc dismissing him for an eight-ball duck in the seventh over of the innings. Ahead of the game, Kohli stated that he is fresh as ever after such a long break and that it was refreshing to spend time with family while being away from the game.
“It’s been a long time off for me since I retired from Test cricket. I was just catching up on life. I haven’t been able to do anything; I don’t know for how many years. I’ve just been able to spend some quality time with the kids and family at home. It’s been a beautiful phase and something that I really enjoyed,” he said while speaking to Fox Sports ahead of the first ODI.
The 36-year-old also reflected on the fact that he played a lot of cricket over the last 15 years or so and also claimed to have played the most number of matches in the world. “To be honest the amount of cricket I have played over the last 15-20 years, I have actually not rested at all. I have probably played the most number of games in international cricket combining the IPL together. So for me it was a very refreshing time off,” Kohli added.
Kohli recalls touring Australia in 2011
Virat Kohli, during the interview, also recalled his first tour to Australia back in 2011 when he was a youngster. Notably, he also notched up his maiden Test century on the same tour, scoring 116 runs at the Adelaide Oval in January 2012. However, it was also an extremely tough tour for Kohli who got into a scuffle with the crowd, only to understand later that one has got to perform with the bat instead of responding to the hostil crowd down under.
“Early on I found it was easier to watch on television than be part of that hostile environment but I am really grateful to all those times because that shaped me as a cricketer and as a person as well.ย That really tests your mental strength and resilience because once you start copping it from the crowd you can’t escape, you got to come back everyday.
“I didn’t understand it initially to be honest. But guys like Keven Pietersen who copped it before told me something about Australia that you feel like they are at you the whole time but at the back of their minds and hearts they really appreciate that you are standing up and playing that kind of cricket.ย
“So, don’t take it personally, don’t take it to heart. You just go out there and play competitive cricket. You will realise how good you are as a cricketer and you will realise over a long period of time how it really shapes up and makes up mentally as a player. I have nothing but gratitude for those experiences as a player. The crowd being at me really brought out the best from me,” Kohli further said.