Former South Africa and Royal Challengers Bengaluru batter AB de Villiers has described Virat Kohli‘s current batting form as ‘pretty much unstoppable’, pointing to a relaxed and instinct-driven approach that he believes makes Kohli more dangerous than ever.
Kohli’s form has been backed by results on the field. On September 27, 2026, in Thiruvananthapuram, he scored 139 not out off 88 balls in the first ODI against West Indies, his 55th ODI hundred, reaching the milestone off just 74 balls. In the same innings, Kohli surpassed 15,000 ODI runs, becoming only the second batter after Sachin Tendulkar to reach that mark. India chased down 296 and won by eight wickets.
De Villiers drew a comparison between Kohli’s present batting and his celebrated 2016 version, arguing that the current form is actually superior because of how settled and free Kohli appears at the crease. He noted that Kohli seems to have shed the intensity and overthinking that occasionally held him back, and is now relying far more on instinct built over a lifetime of playing the game.
“I think it is a better version because of the way he’s so relaxed. And out there in the middle, you can almost see he’s completely free,” de Villiers told Sports Today.
What does AB de Villiers think makes Kohli’s current form different?
De Villiers traced the beginning of this shift to the ICC Champions Trophy played in the UAE, where he first noticed Kohli adopting a different role. He observed that Kohli briefly returned to older habits before eventually letting go of them entirely. De Villiers also spoke about a side of Kohli that he feels the public is now seeing more clearly, one focused on those around him rather than on himself.
“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. But that’s the way I love Virat. And I’ve always, in interviews, said that there’s a side of him that people don’t know. And I think we’re seeing that side more than ever now, where he’s just completely focused almost on other people,” he added.
De Villiers further noted that Kohli, who has retired from T20Is and Test cricket, appears aware of what he wants to offer in the time he has left at the top level.
“And 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 said.
Why does de Villiers believe Kohli’s instinct makes him so hard to stop?
De Villiers explained that the combination of freedom and gut feel is what separates Kohli’s current batting from earlier phases of his career. He argued that when Kohli is not overthinking and is trusting his natural reading of the game, he becomes exceptionally difficult to contain.
“But yes, I think because he’s so free, he’s making sounder decisions out there. He’s not so intense, he’s not overthinking the game. He’s going a lot on gut feel, it seems, and generally, the gut feel is right. Your instinct takes over, and he’s played this game all his life,” de Villiers said.
He went on to link this mindset directly to what it could mean for India at the 2027 World Cup, while also reflecting on what younger players in the dressing room can learn from Kohli in this state.
“So when Virat plays with his instinct, he’s pretty much unstoppable. So, well, it’s quite scary to think of where this will go and how good and how big of an impact he’s going to have for Team India in the 2027 World Cup. But 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,” he said.
