Freer, Grateful Kohli No Longer 'overly Intense' About Achievements, Says De Villiers

Freer, grateful Kohli no longer overly intense about achievements, says de Villiers (Ahmedabad: IPL 2025 Final - Punjab Kings vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru)

ODI World Cup: Virat Kohli has reached a stage in his illustrious career where he is no longer ‘overly intense’ about milestones, according to former South Africa captain AB de Villiers, who sees his long-time friend playing with a newfound sense of gratitude and freedom as he navigates the final stretch of his journey in international cricket.

In eight ODI innings in 2026, Kohli has amassed 552 runs at an astonishing average of 78.85 and strike-rate of 118.20 – making him the third leading run-getter after India captain Shubman Gill and England’s premier batter Joe Root.

“That's a natural thing to happen at the back end of your career, where you realise my days are numbered, whether it's one year or two or three years. Who knows how long Virat will go for. Only he will know what his goals are, if it's maybe his last ODI World Cup, he will try and win it.

“I don't know how many IPLs he has left in him, but that's obviously a completely personal decision. I think towards the back end of a person's career, you realise how grateful you must be and how lucky you have been to have had such a long career after where you come from.

“You think back to your early days as a five-year-old boy running around the cricket field and just enjoying the game. It almost does the full cycle. In the middle of your career, we're always, as athletes, very driven, very emotional, and want to win every trophy and be the best in the world.

“I think this is a phase where Virat is sort of just letting go a bit and looking around him and realising how lucky he has been and how grateful he must be for everything that has come his way. He's achieved everything in cricket. That's also maybe something that pops in the back of his mind – ‘I've achieved everything. I don't have to be so intense about achievements anymore,’” de Villiers told IANS in a select chat facilitated by FanCode, the official broadcaster of World Championship of Legends.

In Thiruvananthapuram, the venue for India's ODI series opener against West Indies, Kohli became only the second batter after Sachin Tendulkar to score 15,000 ODI runs via smashing his 55th ODI century – an unbeaten 139.

In a career packed with records, titles and accolades, Kohli now speaks with a sense of gratitude for the journey and a desire to keep improving. From the fiery teenager who debuted for India to the seasoned veteran who’s full of gratitude and oozes humility in his words, Kohli’s transformation in demeanour has been striking.

“Just enjoy the journey, enjoy my teammates, have a great influence in other people's careers and lives. Whatever comes my way at the back end of my career, I'm happy and grateful for it and it's really good to see.

“I've spoken to Virat and he will recall me speaking to him at the age of 28 to 32 about being too overly intense, to sort of just sit back a bit, work hard on your game and have an impact in other people's lives. That is definitely shining through now more than ever and very happy for him.

“It's an incredible run of form. We've seen this kind of form in 2012 to 2014 and then again 2016 to 2019 and now this is like a third peak for him in really taking his game to the next level.

“We've often heard him speak about taking his game to the next level, thinking about the game a little bit differently and you can see that in that positive approach and that aggressive approach he's taking on. So it makes me very happy to see him perform like he is,” added de Villiers.

This mental shift and relaxed approach have translated directly into a tactical evolution for ODIs, where he has abandoned his traditional anchor role for outright aggression right from the start of his innings. According to data from CricViz, Kohli has been striking at an unprecedented 119 across his first 20 deliveries in ODIs this year - far exceeding his previous best of 89 in both 2016 and 2018.

The shift is further illustrated by an early attacking shot rate of 58.7 percent and a boundary percentage of 17.9 percent during Kohli’s first 20 balls in ODIs in 2026. The metrics also reflect a sharp increase in his power-hitting, with Kohli hitting a six every 27.4 balls in 2026, which is miles ahead as compared to 2025 (52.1) and 2014 (52.9).

Asked whether this six-hitting version of Kohli in ODIs represents a better iteration of the batter, de Villiers opined, “It's difficult to say. I think it is a better version because of the way he's so relaxed and out there in the middle, you can almost see he's completely free. He showed signs of that at the ICC Champions Trophy in the UAE in 2025.

“I started seeing him play a different role and then he got stuck a little bit again, going back to old habits, and then just sort of let go completely again. But that's the way I love Virat and I've always said that there's a side of him that people don't know.

“I think we're seeing that side more than ever now, where he's just completely focused almost on other people and he realises that all he can do is just go out there and express his talent and let the fans and the people around the world enjoy that for one last time or for the next two years or three or five years.

“I don't know for how long, but I love seeing this side of him. I think it must be an incredible experience to share a dressing room with him as a youngster now. I think they are learning from him more than ever being in this state of mind. But yes, I think because he's so free, he's making sound decisions out there.

“He's not so intense and not overthinking the game. He's going a lot on gut feel, it seems. Generally, the gut feel is right as your instinct takes over. He's played this game all his life. When Virat plays with his instinct, he's pretty much unstoppable. It's quite scary to think of where this will go and how good and how big of an impact he's going to play for Team India in the 2027 World Cup.”

De Villiers signed off by strongly cautioning the Indian selectors against moving on from both Kohli and Rohit Sharma, adding that their wealth of experience remain essential to the national setup in their quest to win their third men’s ODI World Cup.

“That's a personal call that the Indian selectors will have to make. From my point of view, I wouldn't go without Rohit. I think he comes with incredible experience, him and Virat, and the combination, and belief the rest of the squad gets because of the two of them being there is just immeasurable. So I wouldn't go without him - whether he's in great form now or not is irrelevant, in my opinion.

“Just the kind of leadership qualities and the belief he instils in the rest of the team is great for the side. Form-wise, it's always something you can work on. Fitness-wise, I think he'll still be fine. I've played in most of the squads I was part of throughout my career. There were always a couple of more experienced players or older guys who are not as agile in the field anymore.

“That's a personal call that the Indian selectors will have to make. From my point of view, I wouldn't go without Rohit. I think he comes with incredible experience, him and Virat, and the combination, and belief the rest of the squad gets because of the two of them being there is just immeasurable. So I wouldn't go without him - whether he's in great form now or not is irrelevant, in my opinion.

Article Source: IANS