Virat Kohli says he has learned a lesson after sending a tweet about MS Dhoni that significantly heightened speculation the wicketkeeper-batsman was about to retire.

Kohli shared a photo of himself and Dhoni from a 2016 World Twenty20 victory over Australia on Thursday, adding the caption: "A game I can never forget. Special night. This man made me run like in a fitness test."

The post prompted a frenzied reaction on social media, with many Indian cricket fans and news outlets questioning whether a retirement announcement was imminent from Dhoni, who is not part of India's squad for the Twenty20 series with South Africa that starts on Sunday.

Addressing reporters on the eve of the first T20 against South Africa, India's skipper insisted he had not intended to cause such a stir.

"I didn't have anything on my mind," Kohli was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.

"I was sitting at home and posted that photo normally. That became news and it's a lesson for me, that what I intend when I do something isn't how the world perceives it.

"I didn't even have the remotest idea that I should think about it before putting up that picture.

"Like I tweeted, I get memories of that game and I haven't talked about it before. So I thought I'll do a post about it and people inferred something else about it."

The future of Dhoni, 38, remains unclear. After featuring in the Cricket World Cup, he reportedly took a two-month sabbatical to spend time with his paramilitary regiment in the Territorial Army.