Modern-day cricket icon Virat Kohli appears to have unlocked an unprecedented late-career spike in form, which has prompted former South African captain and his Royal Challengers Bengaluru teammate and close friend AB de Villiers to suggest that this might be the finest iteration of the Indian batter yet.
Since late 2025, Kohli has been in amazing form in One-Day Internationals, turning in dominant performances against top-tier opposition including South Africa, New Zealand, England, and the West Indies.
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During the series against the West Indies last year, he crossed the 15,000-run milestone in ODIs and scored his 55th century in the format, becoming only the second player overall to achieve this feat after the legendary Indian batter Sachin Tendulkar.
De Villiers believes Kohli's current run has surpassed even his widely acclaimed prime between 2015 and 2019, a stretch highlighted by his 973-run IPL campaign in 2016 and back-to-back ICC Cricketer of the Year awards in 2017 and 2018.
According to the South African legend, the 37-year-old's technical refinement and run-scoring appetite at this stage of his career surpass his earlier peak.
"I think it is a better version (than 2016-17) because of the way he's so relaxed. And out there in the middle, you can almost see he's completely free," de Villiers said, speaking to India Today.
"He showed signs of that at the last ICC Champions Trophy in the UAE. I started seeing him play a different role, and then he got stuck a little bit again, going back to old habits, and then just sort of let go completely again," de Villiers added.
The numbers back up the praise. In 2026, Kohli stands as the fourth-highest run-scorer in ODIs, amassing 552 runs across just nine innings at an average of 69 and a strike rate approaching 118.
The South African legend further noted how Kohli is performing at such a high level at the age of 37.
"He realises that all he can do is just go out there and express his talents and let the fans and the people around the world enjoy that for one last time, or for the next two years or three or five years. I don't know how long", he added.
"I love seeing this side of him. And I think it must be an incredible experience to share a dressing room with him as a youngster now. I think they are learning from him more than ever, being in this state of mind," de Villiers concluded his remark.
His tally for the calendar year already features two centuries and three half-centuries, with an opportunity to build on those figures during India's upcoming tour of New Zealand, where India are scheduled to play 5 ODI's.
With Kohli having already announced his retirement from T20 and Test cricket, ODIs remain the only format in which he plays for the Indian team. Maintaining peak form can be challenging when playing only when an ODI series comes around.
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