Virat Kohli has retired from T20 Internationals not because he thinks his body is no longer suited for the fast-paced game of the shortest format. On the contrary, he continues to be the lighthouse, showing the younger players the way to success.

Kohli’s stellar innings of 69 not out off 38 balls on Saturday, which helped Royal Challengers Bengaluru script a commanding six-wicket victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad, was a reminder of his ageless skills with the bat. Such exquisite was his knock — he hit five fours and as many sixes but his innings was bent more on the classical side rather than being of the slambang T20 style — that Ravichandran Ashwin ran short of words to praise his former teammate.

“He walks the talk,” Ashwin said on a JioHotstar show. “It’s almost like he’s putting on a show for people to see how the game should be played, play it hard and play it the way it’s meant to be played. That stood out for me with respect to what Virat did.”

Kohli last played T20 cricket at last year’s IPL. But his batting didn’t say so as the master slammed his 28th IPL half-century.

Ashwin went deeper into his analysis of Kohli’s innings, highlighting how the former captain, now 37, has retained his exemplary running between the wickets despite his age.

“I find him quite bizarre at this age. I tell him this during our chats now and then. He was batting on 40-odd, there was a partnership going on, and RCB were coasting.

“He ran through for the first single, stopped there, and the other batter hadn’t even reached halfway, but he was already looking for a second. That was a 57-metre boundary on the leg side, and it shows the enthusiasm he
still brings to the game,” observed Ashwin.

The secret to Kohli’s outstanding consistency is his careful avoidance of the notorious T20 temptations — the urge to play fancy shots in search of extra runs. Kohli said so himself, after Saturday’s game.

“It was good to get back out there. The last game I played was the final last year, but I think the way I batted in the one-day series quite recently really helped me to stay in that same kind of momentum. I wasn’t playing shots that I don’t usually play, so I knew as long as I have the rhythm — and I’ve put enough work physically behind the scenes with my fitness — things should come together nicely,” Kohli said.

But if he’s still so good, why does he play only one format (ODIs) in International cricket? “The kind of scheduling that we’ve had over the last 15 years and the amount of cricket I’ve played, for me there was always a risk of getting burnt out rather than being undercooked. So these breaks helped me immensely. I stay fresh, I stay excited. Whenever I come back to play, it’s 120 per cent. I’m not coming back underprepared. In fact, the extra rest helps me to mentally freshen up,” Kohli said.

With such clarity of mind, Kohli’s innings is still young.