'That's a hint at Kohli': Ashwin's three-word post fuels social media storm after Virat's Adelaide goodbye

While social media buzzed over Virat Kohli’s gesture, Ravichandran Ashwin added fuel to the fire with a cryptic three-word post

For the first time in his illustrious ODI career, in which he holds the all-time record for most centuries, Virat Kohli was dismissed for a duck in consecutive matches. After falling to Mitchell Starc for an eight-ball duck in the rain-curtailed opener in Perth last week, his first dismissal for naught on Australian soil, he was dismissed by Xavier Bartlett on Thursday for a four-ball duck in the second game of the three-match ODI series against Australia. Beyond the dismissal, which fueled World Cup chatter, Kohli’s wave goodbye to the Adelaide crowd sent the internet into overdrive. Was it just a farewell to the spectators or a hint at his international exit?

R Ashwin's X post ignited internet storm

While social media buzzed over Kohli’s gesture, legendary Ravichandran Ashwin added fuel to the fire with a cryptic three-word post that went viral on Thursday. The post contained no caption, only a picture: a black backdrop with the words ‘Just leave it’, accompanied by the tick symbol in the Indian tricolour.

"Is that for Virat Kohli?" asked one of the users in reply to the post. "He's already hinting," wrote another, with a picture of Kohli.

Kohli's farewell tour of Australia hasn't gone exactly as planned thus far. Having retired from T20Is last year in June and from Tests in May this year, the 36-year-old is almost confirmed not to play another international game in Australia after the end of the ongoing ODI series this week, which will end on Saturday with the final tie in Sydney.

Heading into Adelaide, where he has scored 975 runs, laced with multiple Test hundreds and a World Cup century against Pakistan, Kohli was expected to bounce back after his dismissal for a duck in Perth. However, his innings lasted just four balls on Thursday. Kohli expected an outswinger from Bartlett and was looking to flick it on the leg side. However, the delivery moved in sharply after pitching, and caught Kohli plumb in front.

The dismissal certainly added more pressure on the 36-year-old, who is playing his first international series since the Champions Trophy tournament in March this year, and is looking to keep his spot in the ODI starting XI ahead of the 2027 World Cup, especially amid the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Abhishek Sharma breathing down his neck.