NEW DELHI, Sept 16: India’s cricket captain for all three formats Virat Kohli on Thursday made it official that he will step down as India’s T20 captain after the conclusion of the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2021.
Kohli, who has played 90 T20s for India, has captained in 45 of those matches and won 27 of them.
The 32-year-old said in a statement that the decision was taken after consulting people close to him, head coach Ravi Shastri and teammate and opening batsman Rohit Sharma, who is expected to take over from him.
Kohli cited the “immense workload” he has been managing for most of the last decade, as an all-format player and as captain, as the reason for his decision. “Understanding workload is a very important thing and considering my immense workload over the last 8-9 years playing all three formats and captaining regularly for last five to six years, I feel I need to give myself space to be fully ready to lead Indian team in Test and ODI cricket,” the statement said.
“I have given my everything to the Team during my time as T20 captain and I will continue to do so for the T20 team as a batsman moving forward.”
“I have also spoken to the BCCI secretary Jay Shah and the President Sourav Ganguly along with all the selectors about the same. I will continue to serve Indian Cricket and the Indian Team to the best of my ability,” he further added.
BCCI President Sourav Ganguly said Kohli has been a true asset for Indian Cricket. “He has led with aplomb. He is one of the most successful captains in all the formats. The decision has been made keeping in mind the future roadmap. We thank Virat for his tremendous performance as the T20 Captain. We wish him all the best for the upcoming World Cup and beyond and hope that he continues to score plenty of runs for India,” said Ganguly.
The BCCI is yet to name Kohli’s successor as captain in the format. The T20 World Cup starts in UAE on October 17 and ends on November 14.
Ganguly had last week refuted the media speculations that Kohli was contemplating to quit T20 captaincy after the world cup to concentrate more on his batting.
(Manas Dasgupta)
