Ahead of his eagerly awaited comeback in India colours, Virat Kohli sparked speculation over his cricketing future with a cryptic social media post just three days before the opening ODI against Australia at Optus Stadium in Perth.
“The only time you truly fail is when you decide to give up,” Kohli wrote on Thursday morning on X, a post that quickly went viral, garnering over 178,000 views in just 25 minutes.
Fans have tried to decode the message, suggesting it signals his commitment to India’s upcoming ODI assignments.
Known for maintaining a low profile on social media outside brand promotions, Kohli’s post attracted widespread attention.
Sometime later, Virat added another message to the same post’s thread, revealing that his earlier post was actually part of a marketing campaign and not a cryptic hint about his ODI career.
Kohli’s last international outing was during India’s ICC Champions Trophy 2025 campaign in the UAE.
After scoring a century against Pakistan in the group stage and a vital 84 in the semifinals against Australia, he finished as India’s second-highest run-scorer of the tournament.
Earlier this year, Kohli announced his retirement from Test cricket midway through the IPL 2025 season, saying, “There’s something deeply personal about playing in whites. The quiet grind, the long days, the small moments that no one sees but that stay with you forever. As I step away from this format, it’s not easy — but it feels right. I’ve given it everything I had, and it’s given me back so much more than I could’ve hoped for.”
The superstar has scored 14,181 runs in 302 ODIs at an average of 57.88, including 51 centuries and 74 fifties, with a strike rate over 93. This year alone, he has amassed 275 runs in seven ODIs, with one century and two fifties. Kohli also enjoys a strong record in Australian conditions, with 1,327 runs in 29 ODIs at an average of 51.03, including five centuries and six fifties.
Fans responded to the post with messages of encouragement and nostalgia, urging Kohli to “never give up” and expressing hope to see him return to Test cricket or lift the 2027 World Cup for India.
Team India arrives in Perth
Prominent members of India’s ODI squad, including Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and new captain Shubman Gill, arrived in Perth on Thursday for the three-match series beginning October 19.
Other players arriving included K L Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, and Nitish Kumar Reddy, with head coach Gautam Gambhir and the rest of the coaching staff expected later in the day.
The series, moving from Perth to Adelaide (October 23) and Sydney (October 25), will be followed by a five-match T20I series starting October 29.
The upcoming ODIs mark Rohit and Kohli’s first international appearances since India’s Champions Trophy victory in March, and speculation has intensified over their futures, especially after Gill’s elevation to ODI captain.
Both veterans, retired from Tests and T20Is, are reportedly planning to continue at least until the 2027 ODI World Cup.
Gill recently praised the duo’s enduring value: “The experience that both of them have and the matches that they have won for India, there are very few players who have won so many matches for India…players who have such skills and qualities with this experience are very few. There are very few players in the world who have so much skill, quality and experience. So, in that sense, yes.”
