Virat Kohli, the Indian cricket team’s run machine, drove the internet into a frenzy on Thursday when he was out for a duck in the second ODI against Australia in Adelaide. As the former captain walked away, he waved his glove in a small wave to the fans, who gave him a standing ovation. This led to a lot of conjecture that he was hinting at the end of his great international career.
But veteran opener Sunil Gavaskar has stepped in to put an end to the rumors, telling supporters that the 36-year-old player still has “a lot of cricket left.”
Two Ducks in a Row Lead to Retirement Buzz
Australian fast bowler Xavier Bartlett got Kohli out for the first time in a long time with a nip-backer that hit him just in front of the stumps.This was a sad first for Kohli because it was the first time in his whole ODI career that he has been out for a duck in back-to-back games. The firing, along with the pressure to keep his job for the next World Cup, made his gesture to the crowd—raising his glove—a moment that social media quickly understood as a goodbye.
Gavaskar: “Don’t Take It Too Seriously”
Sunil Gavaskar firmly defended Kohli’s future and described what the gesture really meant when he talked to Sports Tak. He said that Kohli is allowed to fail a few times because of how great his record is.”Look, the guy has more than 14,000 runs, 52 ODI centuries, and I think 32 Test centuries.” He has scored thousands and thousands of runs, so he can afford to fail a few times. Don’t read too much into what has transpired; there is still a lot more cricket to play. Gavaskar said, “Maybe Sydney will see a big innings from him,” looking forward to the third and final game of the series.
The cricket master went on to say that the applause was a sincere thank you from the mostly Australian crowd for all he had done for the game.”What a great reception he got when he stepped out to bat. Most of the spectators were Australians who knew what he had done for the game. That applause was very, very special. “No, it’s not the end,” he said. Gavaskar said that the wave was just Kohli showing respect to the members as he walked by.
Goals for the 2027 World Cup Gavaskar strongly rejected the idea of an early retirement, saying that Kohli’s mentality wouldn’t let him depart on a bad note. “Virat Kohli is not the kind of player who will give up this quickly. Do you really believe he would retire after scoring zero runs in two consecutive matches? No way. He will want to end his career on a good note. The Indian great boldly said that Kohli will definitely play in the Sydney match on Saturday. He also said that the superstar’s retirement tale will probably finish at the 2027 ODI World Cup, where he will play with Rohit Sharma.”I assume he was just waving to the fans with his gloves. When you get a huge score, you usually show it with your bat aloft or your helmet or cap off. But this was just his way of saying thank you to the people who came to see him and cheered for him. Gavaskar said, “Don’t read too much into it,” putting the rumors of his retirement to bed once and for all.