Virat Kohli might be spending quality time with his family and family when cricket takes the centre-stage at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, but the former India captain could possibly take a U-turn if the national team were playing in the gold medal match.
For the first time in 100 years, cricket will be one of the sports at the Olympics programme in Los Angeles with the first Olympic medal up for grabs for the current generation of players. The only time cricket was a part of Olympics was back in 1900 with Great Britain and France being the only participants.
Having made his T20I debut in 2010, Virat Kohli retired from the shortest format of the game after India lifted the T20 World Cup last year, beating South Africa in the final.
Interviewed by former England women international Isa Guha, Virat Kohli said it’s a great opportunity for some of the youngsters to have an Olympic medal in their cabinet. Notably, cricket will be played in T20 format at LA Olympics.
“So many T20 leagues are played all over the world, and 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,” Virat Kohli said at RCB Innovation Lab Indian Sports Summit on Saturday in Bengaluru.
Asked if he would be interested in playing in the LA Games in 2028, Virat Kohli replied. “No. For the Olympics? Maybe? If we are playing for the gold medal, I may come back for one game (laughs). Get a medal and come back home. It is a great thing. To be an Olympic champion would be a magnificent feeling, the first of its kind.”
Virat Kohli on shift in perception about women in sport in India
Speaking on the shift in perception on how people view women and girls in sport in this country, Virat Kohli said, “They were their own catalysts and kind of put the attention onto them. I literally saw it happening like in a time span of 6-7 years.
“The way they started playing, you could see that belief and then people started engaging in that a lot. And eventually it got to a place where, you know, the commercials became better, money was being infused into the women’s game, and then you have the WPL.”
“Looking at men for the improvement of sport in any country, it has to be a collective. Sports culture includes everyone, and women’s sport is a massive part of it and we have so much data in women’s sports, not just cricket but all the others. We are creating individual activities over the year in tennis, badminton, wrestling, boxing. So, I think it’s definitely heading in the right direction and it needs more backing and more and more infrastructure to be developed,” Virat Kohli shared.
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