The childhood coach of Virat Kohli, Rajkumar Sharma, hinted that the Team India batting stalwart is set to settle in London with his wife Anushka Sharma, and children Vamika and Akaay.
Over the past few years, the former Indian captain has been spending most of his free time with family in London. Moreover, his son was born in the United Kingdom (UK) earlier this year on February 15.
Rajkumar hasn’t provided many details but highlighted the possibility that Kohli would relocate his base to the UK as the couple owns a property over. It is expected that the 36-year-old after retiring from his cricket career might spend his life in the UK.
Meanwhile, Indian legendary off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin’s unexpected retirement from international cricket has sparked debate about Kohli’s future. However, Rajkumar Sharma has provided a piece of good news by clarifying those rumors to be baseless.
Currently, Virat is busy with India’s ongoing Australian tour of Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 and has landed in Melbourne ahead of the 4th test starting from December 26 (Thursday).
Rajkumar Sharma About Virat Kohli’s Plans to Settle in London
In a recent interview with Dainik Jagaran, Rajkumar Sharma affirmed Virat Kohli’s chances to shift to the UK by not dwelling too much on the details:
“Yeah! Virat Kohli is preparing to move to London along with his wife and kids. Soon, he would leave India and settle there. Apart from his busy cricket commitments, Kohli in recent times has spent most of his time with his family,” Rajkumar said.
Kohli’s Childhood Coach Denies Retirement Rumors
Rajkumar Sharma voiced his confidence in Kohli’s talent despite his continuing struggles in the Australian tour:
“See! He (Virat Kohli) has maintained his fitness levels very well, and I believe that he isn’t old enough to retire soon. I hope he will be spotted playing for India in the 2027 World Cup.
Moreover, if a cricketer enjoys his game, he will be able to deliver his best form. At present, his form is not a serious concern. This is because Kohli knows how to bat in challenging situations and guide his team to victory,” Rajkumar Sharma added a few more facts.
Virat Kohli has spent most of the year 2024 in London
It is a fact that Virat Kohli has spent most of his time this year (2024) with his family in London. He came back to India to participate in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 after the birth of his son. He flew back to his home nation after the team’s victory in the T20 World Cup in West Indies in June and boarded the flight back to the UK.
Kohli played in the 3-match ODI series in Sri Lanka in July and upon the completion of the series, he traveled back to London and stayed there till August.
However, he had to return to India as the home test season commenced which included a 2-match test series against Bangladesh and a 3-match test series against New Zealand. Since then the right-handed batter stayed in India and celebrated his birthday on November 5 with his family before traveling to Australia for the 5-match test series that started on November 22.
Virat Kohli’s Hint About His Retirement Plans
In a chat with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) earlier this year, Virat Kohli opened up about the retirement topic saying that people wouldn’t see him for a while once he steps down:
“Yes! It’s simple as a sportsperson, we too have to meet the conclusion date of our careers. So, I don’t want to end my career thinking that ‘Oh! What I have done on this day only for the reason I wasn’t able to go on forever.’ So, it isn’t about leaving any work undone and not having any regrets which I am confident that I won’t have.
So, once I am done with my cricket career, I will be away, and you won’t be able to catch me for a while. I believe that I should give my best till the time I play and that’s the only factor that keeps me continuing till now,” Kohli said.
Final Thoughts:
Already retiring from T20 internationals after India’s T20 World Cup 2024 triumph, there is still a lack of clarity on how long the run-machine Kohli would survive in his career playing the Tests and ODIs. Although Virat Kohli is expected to play till the ODI World Cup 2027, his out-of-form raises concerns about his future with the Indian cricket team.
After scoring his 30th test century in Perth, Kohli has managed to score just 21 runs in the last three innings of the ongoing Australian tour.
The last test match of the BGT 2024-25 is scheduled between the 3rd to 7th of January 2025. As a consequence, the King of Cricket is expected to participate in the 3-match ODI series against England from February 6th to 12th before the start of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 and the exact schedule of the tournament will be announced soon. Meanwhile, it is expected that he will fly back to London once the test series against Australia concludes.
After the completion of the white ball series against England, it remains to be seen if Kohli prefers to stay in India or travel back to London till the start of the CT25.
