Virat Kohli’s cricketing journey has been defined by resilience, an unrelenting pursuit of excellence and a knack for rising to big occasions. For over a decade, he has anchored India’s batting dreams, blending class with aggression. Now, as whispers of retirement circle, his actions suggest a new chapter may be unfolding.
On Wednesday, the ace Indian batter dropped a strong hint about his return to the One Day International format ahead of the Australia series, even as speculation continues over whether he and Rohit Sharma might step away from ODIs before the 2027 World Cup.
Virat Kohli, who has not played since his last outing at the Champions Trophy, recently shared a photo from an indoor net session, signaling his readiness to return to international duty.
The Instagram story featured him training alongside Gujarat Titans assistant coach Naeem Amin, with a caption thanking him for the batting session and noting how good it was to catch up. The image quickly gained attention when a fan page reshared it, suggesting Kohli was preparing for the Australia ODIs, a post that received a like from Kohli’s official account.
Here is the post which was shared by a fan account:
https://www.instagram.com/p/DNF0lRYPCOc
Fans seized on this as a sign of his commitment to continue, with comments celebrating that he “isn’t going anywhere” and expressing confidence that he is gearing up for the upcoming series.
With the Bangladesh ODI series scheduled for this month now called off, India’s next assignment in the format will be an away tour of Australia from October 19 to 25. What remains uncertain, however, is whether Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma will continue to feature in the format beyond that series. The debate is framed by the reality that by the time of the October 2027 ODI World Cup, the pair will be 39 and 40 years old respectively, despite boasting a combined tally of 83 centuries and over 25,000 runs in the format.
A BCCI source, speaking to PTI, explained that if either player was planning to step away, they would communicate their decision directly to the board, just as they did before the England Test tour. From the team’s perspective, however, the immediate priority is preparation for the T20 World Cup in February and managing resources with that goal in mind.
For now, Virat Kohli’s latest training update may be the clearest indication that he intends to extend his ODI journey, at least until the end of the Australia series. Beyond that, the future of two of India’s most prolific white-ball cricketers remains a matter of watchful anticipation.
