IND vs AUS: Gloves off, right hand up — did Virat Kohli hint at retirement?

The visual of a disappointed Virat Kohli, taking his gloves off to acknowledge cheers from the Adelaide crowd one last time, will be etched in memory. The first back-to-back duck in ODIs in the master batter's storied career must have hurt his pride badly — but it’s also a grim reminder of the fact that professional sport does not always offer a guarantee for fairytale endings.

Speculation is going full steam ahead as to whether the third and final ODI in Sydney on Saturday will be his last, or whether Kohli would like to give himself a chance in the three matches at home against South Africa.

It would also be intriguing to watch Gautam Gambhir’s next move as two ducks in a three-match series which has been decided (with the hosts taking an unassailable 2-0 lead), makes a strong case for tinkering with the batting order to bring in Yashasvi Jaiswal. There is only a day's turnaround time for the final game after Mitchell Marsh & Co won the second one by two wickets.

Granted that the entire hype around the three-match series Down Under has been built around the return of Ro-Ko, but Kohli looked clearly rusty and has looked to be playing from memory in the 12 balls he has faced in his two innings. While Rohit was willing to sacrifice his ego and ride on a slice of luck for his tenacious 73 at Adelaide, Kohli fell to two of the bad habits which have crept into his game in recent years.

It was as if the ghost of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy played out once again in the first match at Perth as Kohli went across the line for a flick against some swing from newcomer Xavier Bartlett, and was rapped on the pads.

No wonder social media is agog with speculation whether the curtain call from international cricket altogether is finally round the corner.

‘’Right hand up. Acknowledging the Adelaide crowd. Any hint ???? #AUSvsIND#Kohli,’’ wrote cricket writer Devendra Pandey on his X handle.

‘’End is very-very near guys, cherish each and every moment of Virat Kohli in this tour,’’ wrote a fan.

The most followed cricketer globally on Instagram at approximately 274 million — Kohli has always resorted to social media posts to make key announcements about stepping down from any format or quitting any form of captaincy.

The only occasion when he announced his stepping away with a farewell speech at the venue was after the last T20 World Cup final in the Caribbean — an emotional moment as the Men in Blue had broken a 13-year jinx for a World Cup crown.

The signing off from ODIs, as and when it comes, may be a bitter pill for his legion of fans but then it looks as though the most influential figure in global cricket in modern times may have lost the zeal to continue.

Detractors of the Big Two will, meanwhile, say commercial considerations are forcing them to stand on the last legs of an international career — banking on a format which is played the least.

For all we know, Kohli’s gloves-off gesture could be a spontaneous rather than a loaded one — at a venue where he has been one of the most successful Indian batters with 975 runs across formats.

What next for Kohli then? Will it be the expected call or a belief in the philosophy which he espoused in a latest commercial released ahead of this series: ‘’Failure teaches you what victory never will?’’

We will know soon!