Virat Kohli was the captain of the India cricket team for almost seven years and in a high-pressure job, sometimes you lose the plot which only makes him human. So Kohli quitting Test captaincy isn’t a surprise anymore.
New Delhi, Reason behind Virat Kohli Leaving Captaincy: Virat Kohli stepped down from his role as the Test captain of India on Saturday after taking over from MS Dhoni in 2014 in the series down under. While many in the cricketing circle and the media found it hard to believe, it was always there on the cards and a series loss in South Africa that many expected India to win comfortably might have just triggered the decision.
We take a look at the reasons behind Virat Kohli giving up his Test captaincy:
- BCCI chairman of selectors Chetan Sharma and BCCI President Sourav Ganguly told the media that Virat Kohli was requested by the board not to step down from his role as the captain of the team before the T20 World Cup but Kohli by then had already made up his decision, which might not have gone down too well with some of the officials in the BCCI. India’s dismal show in the T20 World Cup added insult to injury.
- Just before the selectors met to pick the squad for the New Zealand series, Chetan Sharma had given Virat Kohli a call, informing him about their decision of making Rohit Sharma the ODI captain which essentially meant that Rohit will be India’s white-ball captain going forward since he was already appointed as the T20 captain. The logic behind this was to have one man leading the team instead of two white-ball captains. In simple words, Kohli was sacked as the ODI captain before the New Zealand series.
- With former India coach Ravi Shastri deciding to end his tenure as the India coach along with Bharat Arun and R Sridhar, Kohli might have felt a little bit cornered in terms of the kind of support that he has received over the years. So, it was always coming, given a new set of people will bring in a new set of ideas.
- The BCCI President Sourav Ganguly and chairman of selectors Chetan Sharma went on record to state that they had requested Kohli not to resign as the T20 captain, which he eventually did, and went on to contradict their statement in the press conference before leaving for the South African tour meant that his relationship with the board was possibly at an all-time low and he probably saw the writing on the wall.
- India lost the series against South Africa 1-2 that could have played a role in Kohli resigning from his role as the Test captain. The history of Indian cricket is full of such stories where an overseas loss can lead to a captain losing his position, even more so when you are expected to win. In some way, it might have threatened Kohli’s position as captain that might have led to his decision of stepping down as the captain.
- Finally, Kohli has been the captain of the Indian team for quite some, seven years to be precise as the Test captain and a little less as ODI and T20 captain. It is a high-pressure job and sometimes it can get to you and affect you mentally and personally in so many ways. Kohli might have been mentally drained and tired after being captain of the team for so long and possibly wanted to concentrate on his own game for the next three-four years. He is still one of the best batters in the world.
Everything in this world comes with a shelf life and then you would need an air of freshness, some new ideas and some new faces in the leadership group. Maybe, it was the right time.
