Sydney, Nov 6 : Australian vice-captain Sydney, Nov 6 : Australian vice-captain Adam Gilchrist has hinted that he might bid adieu to international cricket at the end of this season.

Revealing that he had pondered retirement during the last season's Ashes series, the swashbuckling wicketkeeper-batsman said that he was uncertain whether he would continue playing in the next season.

“I'm not sure if I'll be back here next year, but with the way I feel at the moment the intention is to try and get right through,” Gilchrist said at a luncheon in Brisbane ahead of the first Test against Sri Lanka.

"I wondered whether last summer might be my last one," Gilchrist said at a luncheon in Brisbane ahead of the first Test against Sri Lanka.

“I just thought I would go along and enjoy it, and then the World Cup came and that was a real shot of adrenaline. We have had two good off-seasons the last two winters, and over the next three or four years cricketers will not see that kind of time off. It was very timely for me,” the Sydney Morning Herald quoted him, as saying.

The decision will come as a major blow to the Australian team, which is about to embark on its most hectic period of cricket - incorporating 23 Tests, a Champions Trophy and numerous other limited-overs series before the end of 2008, the daily said.

Gilchrist, who will turn 36 between the Brisbane and Hobart Tests, had earlier said that he would consider retiring from one-day international cricket to prolong his Test career.

If he maintains his streak of consecutive matches, Gilchrist will equal Rod Marsh's mark of 96 Test appearances by the end of this summer. Only Ian Healy, with 119, has played more Tests among Australian wicketkeepers. (ANI) has hinted that he might bid adieu to international cricket at the end of this season.

Revealing that he had pondered retirement during the last season's Ashes series, the swashbuckling wicketkeeper-batsman said that he was uncertain whether he would continue playing in the next season.

“I'm not sure if I'll be back here next year, but with the way I feel at the moment the intention is to try and get right through,” Gilchrist said at a luncheon in Brisbane ahead of the first Test against Sri Lanka.

"I wondered whether last summer might be my last one," Gilchrist said at a luncheon in Brisbane ahead of the first Test against Sri Lanka.

“I just thought I would go along and enjoy it, and then the World Cup came and that was a real shot of adrenaline. We have had two good off-seasons the last two winters, and over the next three or four years cricketers will not see that kind of time off. It was very timely for me,” the Sydney Morning Herald quoted him, as saying.

The decision will come as a major blow to the Australian team, which is about to embark on its most hectic period of cricket - incorporating 23 Tests, a Champions Trophy and numerous other limited-overs series before the end of 2008, the daily said.

Gilchrist, who will turn 36 between the Brisbane and Hobart Tests, had earlier said that he would consider retiring from one-day international cricket to prolong his Test career.

If he maintains his streak of consecutive matches, Gilchrist will equal Rod Marsh's mark of 96 Test appearances by the end of this summer. Only Ian Healy, with 119, has played more Tests among Australian wicketkeepers. (ANI)