A few days back, the media reports were abuzz that Virat Kohli would step down as the ODI and T20 captain, while Hit Man Rohit Sarma would replace Virat as the skipper. Times of India had reported the same while attributing to a few sources. However, the BCCI rubbished the reports.
What comes as a big surprise, Virat Kohli had broke the news of leaving the T 20 captaincy after the forthcoming T 20 tournament. He had issued a statement in this regard on Twitter. He thanked everyone who helped him in his long career.
In the statement, Virat Kohli said, he took a workload for playing all the formats for 8-9 years and he has been leading the team for 5-6 years. He termed the decision as a space to captain the team in ODI and Test format.
“Of course, arriving at this decision took a lot of time. After a lot of contemplation and discussions with my close people, Ravi bhai and also Rohit, who have been an essential part of the leadership group, I-ve decided to step down as the T20 Captain after this T20 World Cup in Dubai in October. I have also spoken to secretary Mr Jay Shah and the President of BCCI Mr 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,” Virat Kohli said in his statement.
Virat Kohli stepped into the shoes of the skipper in 2017 post-Dhoni’s step down. In the past four years, Kohli took India to a lot of memorable wins at home and overseas as well.
The 2021 World Cup is going to be the first and last World Cup in T20 format. India will start their campaign by taking on the arch-rivals Pakistan in their first match. We have to see if Kohli ends his T20 captaincy by lifting the tournament.