Virat Kohli issues official statement on 2027 World Cup

Virat Kohli has all but confirmed that he has his eyes set on the 2027 ICC World Cup despite all the chatter around his future in the Indian ODI lineup. Kohli confirmed his willingness to continue till the marquee tournament in front of broadcasters Ravi Shastri and Adam Gilchrist.

India vs Australia clash has been a disgusting rain-affected affair at the Optus Stadium in Perth. Rain has interrupted play multiple times within the first 15 overs of the game. Four hours since the game started, Aussies have bowled just 15 overs of play, and the latest update finds the game reduced to 32 overs.

With the top order failing to score runs, KL Rahul has stepped onto the crease alongside Axar Patel and is looking to stabilize the innings since Shreyas Iyer's dismissal. Iyer was dismissed off Hazlewood's second spell, as the batter nicked a ball angling down the leg, much like the skipper, Shubman Gill.

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Virat Kohli indicates World Cup stay during talks with Adam Gilchrist and Ravi Shastri

Virat Kohli did not have an ideal return to the international format, as he got out for a duck in his return game off Mitchell Starc's bowling. The right-handed batter faced eight balls without scoring a single run and was dismissed going for a big, booming drive.

Before the start of the match, Virat Kohli was involved in a chat with broadcasters Adam Gilchrist and Ravi Shastri for Fox Sports, where he confirmed his willingness to play in the 2027 ICC ODI World Cup.

The broadcasters, too, expressed their desire to watch Kohli play in the upcoming World Cup. Even Rohit and Kohli have harbored hopes to play in the tournament two years from now. Kohli never spoke publicly about his desire this time around as well, but his behavior in front of Gilchrist and Shastri spoke highly of his desire to feature in the World Cup.

Here's how the conversation unfolded:

Gilchrist: Well, 2027 is obviously on the radar for you. You've achieved everything in the game. Congrats on the IPL as well. That elusive title. So, well done. All the best.

Kohli: Thank you (smiles).

Gilchrist: Thanks so much for joining us, and welcome back to Australia. Have a good series.

Kohli: Thank you.

Virat Kohli spoke about his fondness with the Australian crowd

While speaking in the interview, Shastri questioned him about what had led to Kohli's sheer dominance while playing in Australia. To this, Virat Kohli has said about his fondness for Australia, saying that he respects how the crowd knows the game and appreciates everyone who performs down under.

“They really appreciate you standing up and playing that kind of cricket. And if you just go out there and play competitive cricket, you will realise how good you can be as a cricketer and you will realise over a long period of time that that really helped you shape your whole makeup and your mental setup as a player,” said Kohli.

“So, as I said, I have nothing but gratitude for having experienced all those moments here and the crowd being at me regularly really brought out the best from me. And I had no option but to turn up being 120% or there was no chance I was going to perform in this country and in those hostile conditions. So, yeah, I've had really good times here as a cricketer,” he added.

Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma disappoint on ODI return

Alongside Virat Kohli, the two other Indian greats, Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma, also failed to be promising at the top of the batting order. As Rohit looked to dominate first up, he was caught behind off a sharp bouncer that took him by surprise.

Later, Shubman Gill nicked a very loose ball that was going down the leg. Nathan Ellis' delivery that left the batter towards the leg side took a faint edge of Gill and was dismissed for just 10 runs. Gill fails on his ODI captaincy debut.

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