Former Indian opener Sunil Gavaskar has firmly shut down speculations of Virat Kohli's retirement after his horror run in the ongoing ODI series in Australia. Gavaskar declared that Kohli will go out from international cricket on a high and is confident that the legend will feature in the 2027 World Cup.
The 36-year-old got out for two consecutive ducks for the first time in ODI cricket. Having failed to trouble the scores in Perth, Kohli was trapped lbw by Xavier Bartlett in the second ODI hosted by Adelaide after playing three deliveries. While walking back to the pavilion, the veteran cricketer thanked the crowd by raising his hand after removing the gloves.
When asked by Vikrant Gupta on Aaj Tak whether the right-hander will play in Sydney, the 76-year-old responded:
"Zaroor. Zaroor, 100% dikhenge. Dekhiye Kohli ek aise khilaadi nahin hain, give up karne waale khilaadi hain hee nahin woh. Aap kya samajhte hain woh 0,0 se bahar nikal jaayenge? Bilkul nahin, woh jaayenge on a high. Unke baare mein bilkul aisa mat sochiye, woh kuch signal kiya, kuch nahin hai woh. Aage jaake Sydney hai, Sydney ke baad India aake South Africa ke saath one-day hai. Main toh kehta hoon 2027 bhi hai Virat Kohli aur Rohit Sharma ke liye."
(Surely. You'll see him 100%. See, Kohli is not that kind of a player. He will not give up. You think he will quit after making 0 and 0. He will go out on a high. Don't think about him that way, he did that signal, that is nothing. There is Sydney and he will return to India to face South Africa in ODIs. I say there is also the 2027 World Cup on the radar for Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.)
India lose an ODI in Adelaide after 17 years
The two-wicket defeat in Adelaide proved to be India's first loss at the venue after 17 years in the format. While Kohli failed for the second consecutive time, Rohit Sharma battled hard for his 73 and stitched a 118-run stand with Shreyas Iyer, who made 61 to take the Men in Blue to 264/9.
Half-centuries from Matt Short and Cooper Connolly along with a cameo from Mitch Owen proved instrumental in Australia's nervy two-wicket victory.
