Virat Kohli is currently playing a version of cricket that shouldn’t technically exist. Usually, when a player hits 37, you expect the sunset. You expect a slow crawl toward retirement, maybe a few "legacy" knocks, and a lot of talk about the "good old days."
But honestly? What’s happening right now in early 2026 is weird.
On January 14, Kohli reclaimed the ICC No.1 ODI batting ranking. It’s his 11th time reaching the top, nearly five years after he last held it in 2021. Most critics had written him off as a "Test specialist who lost his touch" or a "T20 anchor who was too slow." Then he retired from T20Is after the 2024 World Cup and stepped away from Test cricket in May 2025.
Suddenly, he became a specialist. A one-format assassin.
The Reinvention Nobody Saw Coming
The big misconception is that Kohli is just "rolling back the years." He isn't. The 2026 version of Virat Kohli is a completely different beast than the 2016 version.
Back then, he was a percentage player. He’d kill you with ones and twos, then explode in the last ten overs. Now? He’s hitting sixes at a rate that would make his younger self blush. Between 2023 and 2025, his balls-per-six metric dropped from 89.5 down to 57.5. Basically, he’s launching the ball into the stands every ten overs instead of every fifteen.
He’s meaner. He’s faster. He’s abandoned the "patient build-up" for what he calls a counter-attacking mindset.
"Because some ball has your name on it, no point waiting for it," Kohli said after smashing 93 against New Zealand in Vadodara this month. That quote says everything. He isn't biding his time anymore. He’s dictating the terms from the moment he walks out at No. 3.
The Numbers Are Actually Getting Ridiculous
It's easy to get lost in the hype, but look at the cold facts from this January 2026 series against New Zealand.
- Fastest to 28,000 runs: He hit this milestone in just 624 innings, beating Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 644.
- The NZ Record: He just overtook Sachin to become India's highest run-scorer against the Black Caps in ODIs (1,757+ runs).
- The Average: After 300+ matches, his average is still hovering near 60. That is statistically impossible for almost anyone else.
Even though he failed in Rajkot recently, getting out for 23, the purple patch leading up to it was insane: 74*, 135, 102, 65*, and 93. That’s five consecutive fifty-plus scores. People love to argue about whether he’s better than Tendulkar. The truth is, they’re different animals. Sachin was the master of longevity across every single format until the very end. Kohli has chosen to prune his career like a bonsai tree—cutting away the dead weight of Tests and T20Is to make his ODI game bloom.
Is he actually the GOAT?
Sanjay Manjrekar recently caught some heat for saying Kohli chose the "easiest format" by sticking to ODIs. Harbhajan Singh fired back, and honestly, he’s right. There is nothing "easy" about being the best in the world at 37.
If it were easy, everyone would do it.
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The weight of expectation in India is heavy. It’s a physical thing. You can see it in the way the crowd reacts when he misses a straight one. But since he moved his base to London and simplified his life, that "unburdened" version of Kohli has emerged. He isn't playing for the record books anymore, even though he keeps breaking them. He’s playing because he’s finally figured out how to have fun with it.
What’s Left for 2026?
There’s a lot of chatter about what’s next. He’s 37, turning 38 this year. The 2027 ODI World Cup in South Africa is the "North Star," but can he stay this sharp for another eighteen months?
Here is what is actually on the table for Kohli in the coming months:
- The 15,000 ODI Run Club: He’s sitting at 14,673. He needs less than 350 runs to become only the second human ever to hit 15k.
- The 9,000 IPL Run Mark: IPL 19 is coming up. He needs about 339 runs to be the first person to cross 9,000.
- The Century Chase: With 53 ODI tons, he’s already the king. But the "100 hundreds" overall record (he's at 80+) still looms in the distance like a ghost.
Why You Should Stop Comparing Him
We spend so much time debating if Tilak Varma is the "next Kohli" or if Shubman Gill is the "Prince" that we forget to watch the guy who is still sitting on the throne.
Tilak Varma is great—his knock in the 2025 Asia Cup final proved he can handle pressure. But he’s a different player. He’s a product of the T20 generation. Kohli is a bridge. He’s the last of the classical batters who learned to play the long game and then chose to weaponize it for the modern era.
Watching Kohli in 2026 is like watching a master class in efficiency. He doesn't waste energy on social media drama. He doesn't play formats that don't serve him. He shows up, hits a 90-ball century, and goes home.
What you can do next
If you're a fan or just a casual observer, stop looking at the career strike rate. That's a legacy number. Look at the last 12 months.
- Watch his stance in the next match against New Zealand. It’s more open.
- Notice how he’s using his feet against spin—he isn't just lunging anymore; he’s gliding.
- Follow the ICC rankings closely this Sunday; Daryl Mitchell is breathing down his neck, and we might see the top spot swap again within 48 hours.
The "King" era isn't over. It’s just transitioned into a specialist phase that might actually be more productive than his "prime." Don't miss it waiting for the next big thing.
Keep an eye on the third ODI in Indore on January 18. It’s a small ground, a flat deck, and Kohli is one big score away from solidifying his lead at the top of the world.