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Rajkumar Sharma’s possible visit for the 3rd ODI has sparked speculation about Virat Kohli’s retirement from ODIs, after signing off from T20I and Test cricket formats. On July 2, Virat’s childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma shared that he will be in attendance at Lord’s in London for the third and last ODI match of the India vs England series.
The comments from Rajkumar Sharma have initiated a series of speculations among Indian cricket fans. Fans are speculating whether the superstar batter will retire soon from the remaining format as well.
Virat Kohli to announce retirement from ODIs?
During an online interaction on Beyond the Boundary, involving three journalists, the reason behind Rajkumar Sharma’s possible visit to Lord’s was revealed. Through the video, it is claimed that his purpose for the visit will be different, not related to Virat Kohli’s retirement.
According to the claims made in the video, Sahil Malhotra, a Times of India journalist, confirmed that the batter is not going to announce his retirement after the match in London, and Rajkumar Sharma is just going there for some reasons related to Virat's brand One8. Along with Rajkumar Sharma, DDCA (Delhi & District Cricket Association) director Shyam Sharma will be going to watch India's match.
This is the reason. https://t.co/ddC8jc1V9w pic.twitter.com/xywWu0b9uG
— Indian Cricket 🏏 (@navshar54008403) July 2, 2026
This is how the speculations have started
On July 2, a video of Virat Kohli, alongside former India batting coach Sanjay Bangar, went viral across social media platforms. Due to a hamstring injury, which the batter received during the final of the IPL 2026 season against the Gujarat Titans, his availability for the upcoming ODI series against England. He missed the entire ODI series against Afghanistan before that because of the injury.
Virat Kohli is currently working hard to regain his match fitness. Amid speculations over Virat’s chances of playing in England, his childhood coach, Rajkumar Sharma, said that everyone is waiting for his student’s comeback in the international scenario with the Indian cricket team. He himself is not an exception.
“Definitely people are very excited, and everybody is, you know, everyone is excited for Virat and the whole country wants to see him when he will be back, and like others I am also waiting for him to be on the field again,” Rajkumar said.
What did Rajkumar Sharma say?
After that, the veteran coach revealed that he will visit Lord’s during India’s 3rd ODI against England as Virat Kohli is expected to play the match.
“I'll join him at Lord's for the third match, the third one-day I'll go for that, but yes, I wish and pray that he does well and India does well in all these three matches,” he added.
The last few words, mentioned above, as Rajkumar Sharma was quoted, sparked speculations about a possible announcement from Virat’s end. If the reports are to be believed, then Rajkumar’s visit will be because of Virat Kohli’s venture One8. After the conclusion of the IPL 2026 season, the batter attended multiple initiatives, including live programmes in the presence of fans, arranged by his venture One8.
