Don’t want to be dependent on cricket all my life: Kohli

Once he leaves the cricket field, Virat Kohli believes in disconnecting from the sport. The India and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) star is keen to follow this direction once his playing days come to an end.

“I, for one, am not in a space where I want to have more things connected to cricket beyond my playing days. I don’t want to be dependent on cricket all my life, because there’s so much more to understand, learn, and grow with,” Kohli said at the third edition of the RCB Innovation Lab Indian Sports Summit, in Bengaluru on Tuesday (May 19, 2026).

“This should not be the only limiting factor, at least in my experience. Let’s see what happens in a few years’ time and where life takes me,” Kohli, who plays only ODIs for India, said at the Padukone-Dravid Centre for Sports Excellence.

The instant fame and financial windfall that comes with performing in the IPL carries massive appeal, but not so for Kohli. The 37-year-old explained that the true marker of a cricket career is longevity across formats.

“A lot of people relate drive to money nowadays. For me, it’s not the only factor. When a format that gives you the hype, recognition, fame by scoring 40 or 50 runs in 20 balls — and the kind of money that people can make in the IPL today — it can put you in a very comfortable space. It can make you say ‘This is brilliant. I don’t need to handle pressure for too long. I can just go out there and smash the ball’,” Kohli said.

“Or, you can say, I want to play for 15-20 years. I want to get the recognition and respect of the cricketing world, of my own heroes. That’s a very different zone. You have to be very driven to say, ‘I’m going to commit to this for the next 10-15 years. It is going to be very, very hard but I’m all for it’,” Kohli said.