Former India great quashes Virat Kohli's retirement rumours

Team India veteran batsman Virat Kohli stirred a storm on social media after he waved to the Adelaide crowd following his dismissal for a duck in the second ODI against Australia on Thursday. The gesture, which came after a standing ovation from the spectators, sparked widespread speculation that the former India captain might be hinting at retirement.

However, legendary cricketer Sunil Gavaskar has firmly dismissed those rumours, insisting that Kohli’s wave was nothing more than a simple acknowledgment of the fans’ appreciation. Gavaskar assured that the 36-year-old would certainly feature in the third and final ODI in Sydney on Saturday.

Kohli fell to a sharp in-swinger from Xavier Bartlett, trapped plumb in front — marking the first instance in his career of back-to-back ODI ducks. The rare failure intensified scrutiny over his form ahead of the upcoming World Cup, but Gavaskar urged fans not to overreact.

“Look, the man has over 14,000 runs, 52 ODI centuries, and 32 Test hundreds. He’s scored so many runs for India that he’s allowed a couple of failures. There’s still plenty of cricket left in him. Maybe we’ll see a big innings from him in Sydney. Adelaide has always been one of his favourite grounds, so expectations were high, but it just wasn’t his day," said Gavaskar during a recent interaction.

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Gavaskar added that the ovation Kohli received was largely from Australian fans, acknowledging his remarkable contribution to world cricket. “It was a wonderful sight — most of the crowd were Australians giving him a standing ovation. He was simply acknowledging that respect as he walked past the members’ stand, where many former players and officials sit,” he explained.

When asked about Kohli’s immediate future, Gavaskar was unequivocal. “Virat Kohli is not someone who walks away after two low scores. Do you really think he’ll retire after getting 0 and 0? Absolutely not,” he said. “He’ll want to finish on a high. There’s still the Sydney match, the home series against South Africa, and many more ODIs to come. I believe he’ll play through to the 2027 World Cup, alongside Rohit Sharma. Even the Australians would have loved to see him score big.”

Gavaskar concluded by saying that the “glove wave” was simply Kohli’s way of thanking the fans. “Usually, you raise your bat or helmet after a big score, but this was just his way of showing gratitude for the incredible reception. People are reading too much into it,” he said.