The Sydney Test during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy turned out to be the last outing for Virat Kohli in the whites. With a couple of ducks to his name in the ongoing ODI series against Australia, speculation that Kohli's international career could be nearing an end in the third and final match in Sydney is rife. Is the Sydney ODI against Australia going to be the last for Kohli?
The batter's gesture towards fans after his dismissal in Adelaide certainly left fans wondering. Now, Kohli's former Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) teammate Parthiv Patel has intensified the chatter with his post on social media.
Parthiv, who played with Kohli for the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise RCB, shared a three-word post on social media, suggesting that Sydney is where the curtains will be drawn on the Indian stalwart's career.
He wrote on X (formerly Twitter), "Sydney it is!!", with certain fans seeing the post as a hint that Sydney would be Kohli's last outing for the Indian team.
Seeing the chatter over Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli's future become the number one topic on social media, famous cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle, however, has asked for patience.
"I believe we must hold our thoughts on Rohit and Virat till the end of the series," he said.
In comparison to Kohli, Rohit has given his ODI career a lifeline, thanks to his fighting 73-run knock against Australia in Adelaide. However, both the veteran stalwarts are expected to remain under the spotlight for the foreseeable future, even if no official announcement is made in Sydney.
Five T20Is are to follow the ODI series in Australia, but Kohli and Rohit would not be a part of that series, having quit the shortest format. The duo would be keen to get selected for the 3-game ODI series against South Africa at home, starting November 30.