Gearing up for his sixth consecutive appearance at the T20 World Cup, India’s former captain and batting maestro Virat Kohli, revealed his post-retirement plans, saying he doesn’t want to leave any unfinished business behind once he quits the sport.

The 35-year-old India batter has been a formidable force, a match-winner, and a game-changer for India over the last decade. Since his international debut in 2008 in an ODI game against Sri Lanka at Dambulla, Kohli has featured in 113 Tests, 292 ODIs, and 117 T20Is.

His tally of 26,733 international runs across formats is studded with 80 centuries, putting him right behind another India great Sachin Tendulkar, who holds the record for the most international centuries (100).

While Kohli is showing no sign of slowing down – he’s in ominous form in the ongoing IPL, sitting atop the run charts with 661 runs in 13 innings at 66.10.

During a recent chat with the Royal Challengers Bangaluru’s social media team, a significant question was raised to the batting stalwart regarding his retirement plans and the motivations behind his drive to score.

“It’s quite simple. I think as a sportsman, we do have an end-date to our careers. So I am just working backwards. I don’t want to finish my career thinking ‘oh, what if I have done this on that particular day’ because I can’t keep going on and on forever,” Kohli said.

“So it’s just about not leaving any undone business behind and not have any regrets later, which I am sure I won’t.”

Kohli hinted at taking a break after retiring and expressed his desire to give his best for as long as he continues to play.

“Once I am done, I will be gone, you won’t see me for a while (smiles). So I want to give it everything I have till the time I play, and that’s the only thing that keeps me going,” he said.

Kohli, who is set to feature in the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 in the West Indies and US, holds the record for most runs in the history of the showpiece tournament, leading the list with 1141 runs. Given Kohli’s current form, he could elevate that tally further.

India are in Group A of the tournament, alongside arch-rivals Pakistan, Ireland, Canada and co-hosts USA, and will open their campaign against Ireland on June 5, before taking on Pakistan on June 9. India will round off their group stage assignments with two matches against co-hosts USA (June 12) and Canada (June 15).