Virat Kohli teases retirement U-turn for a medal shot at LA 2028 Olympics

Indian superstar Virat Kohli, who retired from international T20 cricket after last year’s World Cup win, cheekily hinted that the allure of an Olympic medal at LA 2028 may just tempt him to return to the format.

Virat Kohli made the statement when former England cricketer Isa Guha asked if he would be interested in playing in the LA Olympics during the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) Innovation Lab talk show on Saturday.

"For the Olympics, I don't know, maybe if we are playing for the gold medal, I just might sneak in for one game, get a medal, and come back home," Kohli quipped playfully.

Cricket, in its T20 format, was one of the five sports approved by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for LA 2028.

The sport was a part of the 1900 Olympics in Paris, but despite its immense popularity worldwide, it has not featured in the Olympics since then.

Kohli also credited the Indian Premier League (IPL) for playing a key role in laying the groundwork for cricket’s inclusion at LA 2028.

"I think that IPL has definitely played a massive role in that as well. It has brought cricket to a stage where it is part of the Olympics. It's a great opportunity for some of our guys," Kohli said. “To be an Olympic champion would be a magnificent feeling, the first of its kind.”

By 2028, Kohli will be around 40 and unlikely to feature as a player, having already stepped away from T20Is in 2024 after guiding India to their first T20 World Cup title in 17 years.

Kohli’s match-winning 76 off 59 balls in the T20 World Cup 2024 final against South Africa in Barbados earned him the Player of the Match honour.

Kohli finished as the second-highest run-scorer in T20 Internationals with 4,188 runs at an average of 48.69 and a strike rate of 137.04. He is the all-time leading run-scorer in T20 World Cups with 1,292 runs in 35 matches and is the only player to top the tournament’s scoring charts in two different editions.

Australia’s Steve Smith, who will be 39 during LA 2028, expressed his desire last month to continue playing and represent his country at the Olympics.

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