Since India’s Champions Trophy final victory this year, Virat Kohli hasn’t featured in any international match. The veteran announced his Test retirement during IPL 2025, and so didn’t play in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy.
Kohli also announced his retirement from T20Is last year, and there have been question marks over his ODI future too. Rohit Sharma faces a similar issue, having retired from T20Is and Tests. But the pair have also publicly said that they would like to participate in the 2027 World Cup.
S Sreesanth on Virat Kohli’s aggression
Speaking on a YouTube show recently, S Sreesanth spoke about Kohli’s so-called aggressive personality during cricket matches, and called it an ‘obsession’.
“Noting (on whether he would change anything). What other calls aggression, I call it passion. Is Virat Kohli aggressive? No. I think he is obsessed. Virat’s aggression, people say, is a lot. I would say if he reduces that aggression, he won’t be the same player,” he said.
Kohli is expected to make his next India appearance during the upcoming Australia Tour, scheduled for later this year, which will also consist of ODIs.
Meanwhile, Sreesanth also recalled the infamous IPL 2008 slap incident, where Harbhajan Singh hit him. “When I told my daughter, ‘This is Bhajji pa, he has played with me,’ she immediately said, ‘No, I won’t say hi.’ I could not understand why. Maybe in school there were conversations about it,” he said.
“We tried explaining but she still would not talk to him. The next day during the legends tournament we explained that he was like our elder brother. I don’t think Bhajji pa did that deliberately. It happened in the heat of the moment. It was a learning experience for both of us,” he further added.
Even Harbhajan has spoken about the incident in the past. He publicly revealed that he had apologised to her multiple times, but she hasn’t forgiven him yet for slapping her father.