Once I'm done, I'll be gone; you won't see me for a while, says Kohli

KNOWING that he "can't keep going forever", ace Indian cricketer Virat Kohli wants to ensure that he gives everything he has to his career because once he is done, he says would be "gone" and won't be seen "for a while".

The ace batter, who has been playing the game for 16 years and has more than 26,000 international runs besides tons of them in other forms, is the highest run-scorer in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 with a tally of 661 from 13 games.

Speculation was rife over his future, particularly in the T20 format, after the 35-year-old skipped the home Test series against England, but his show with the bat in the IPL blew the critics away in no time. Last year, Kohli slammed more than 750 runs in 11 matches in the 50-over World Cup at home.

In a video posted by Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), his IPL franchise, on social media, Kohli said the desire to live a regret-free life keeps him going.

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"So, it's just about not leaving any undone business behind and not having any regrets later, which I'm very sure of I won't. Once I'm done, I'll be gone; you won't see me for a while.

"So, I want to give it everything I have till the time I play and that's the only thing that keeps me going," said Kohli when asked what keeps him hungry.

The Delhi-born Kohli was picked by RCB soon after he led India to title triumph in the 2008 Under-19 World Cup and he has continued to be with the franchise ever since.

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"I think, as sportsmen, we do have an end date to our careers, so I'm just working backwards, I don't want to finish my career thinking what if I had done this on that particular day because I can't keep going on and on forever," he added.

The former India captain is part of the Indian squad for the T20 World Cup in the USA and West Indies beginning next month.

Former India spinner and once Kohli's teammate in the national side, Harbhajan Singh, had recently opined that RCB should think about giving back the team's captaincy to Kohli, saying he has an ideal combination of intent, commitment and aggression to take the side forward from the next season.

South African Faf du Plessis is currently leading RCB, which have made a remarkable comeback into the run for the playoffs after winning five consecutive matches following a six-game losing streak.