Is Virat Kohli returning ODI? Know the reason of this question

There is significant speculation about former Indian captain Virat Kohli's retirement from ODI cricket, as the right-handed world-class batter is now active only in this international cricket format. However, a recent Instagram story brings a different story to his international career. 

Virat Kohli has already retired from T20I and Test cricket. Last year, after winning the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024, where Kohli won the Player of the Match award in the Final, the right-handed batter retired from that international cricket format. Last May, Kohli retired from Test cricket, while the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 was his last Test cricket assignment. 

Indian cricket is now seriously looking to set a strong team for the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2027, which South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia will host in October-November 2027. The 36-year-old Kohli will then move towards 39 years, which makes his ODI future doubtful. Meanwhile, India will play their next ODI in October, when they will tour Australia for the white-ball series. As there is still a significant gap before India's next ODI fixture, Kohli's ODI future isn't confident enough.

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Virat Kohli had a training session

However, on Friday (August 8), Kohli shared an Instagram story where he put a picture from his training session in London. It seemed like an indoor net session, where Kohli was working with Gujarat Titans' assistant coach Naeem Amin. In his story, Kohli also wrote, "Thanks for helping out with the hit, brother. Always lovely to see you." Is it a big hint of former Indian skipper Kohli preparing for his ODI comeback?

India's upcoming ODI series

Talking about India's present ODI schedules, after playing a three-match ODI series in Australia in October, India will host three-match ODI series against South Africa and New Zealand in November-December 2025 and January 2026, respectively. These are likely to begin India's new era of ODI cricket, eyeing the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2027.