Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli stepped down from Test captaincy a day after India’s 1-2 series defeat against South Africa in Cape Town.
He said, “I have always believed in giving my 120 percent in everything I do, and if I can’t do that, I know it’s not the right thing to do. I have absolute clarity in my heart and I cannot be dishonest to my team.”
“It’s been 7 years of hard work, toil, and relentless perseverance every day to take the team in the right direction. I’ve done the job with absolute honesty and left nothing out there. Everything has to come to a halt at some stage and for me as Test Captain of India, it’s now. There have been many ups and also some downs along the journey, but never has there been a lack of effort or lack of belief. I have always believed in giving my 120 percent in everything I do, and if I can’t do that, I know it’s not the right thing to do. I have absolute clarity in my heart and I cannot be dishonest to my team,” Kohli said on social media on Saturday evening.
Virat Kohli, who took over the reins of the Test side in late 2014, guided India to amazing series wins on both home and away tours. He is India’s most successful skipper in the format. Kohli led India in 68 Tests with 40 wins, 17 losses, and 11 defeats.
As Test captain, the 33-year-old scored 5864 runs at a stunning average of 54.80 with 20 centuries and 18 half-centuries.
Kohli also thanked the BCCI, former skipper MS Dhoni and Ravi Shastri. “I want to thank the BCCI for giving me the opportunity to lead my country for such a long period of time and more importantly to all the teammates who bought into the vision I had for the team from day one and never gave up in any situation. You guys have made this journey so memorable and beautiful. To Ravi Bhai and the support group who were the engine behind this vehicle that moved us upwards in Test Cricket consistently, you all have played a massive role in bringing this vision to life. Lastly, a big thank you to MS Dhoni who believed in me as a captain and found me to be an able individual who could take Indian Cricket forward.”
— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) January 15, 2022
Virat Kohli has often been deemed to be one of the best cricket players in the world viewed as one of the greatest cricket players of all time!
Kohli made his Test debut in 2011 and reached the number one spot in the ICC rankings for ODI batsmen for the first time in 2013. He has won Man of the Tournament twice at the ICC World Twenty20 in 2014 and 2016. He also holds the world record of being the fastest to 23,000 international runs.
Kohli has been the recipient of many awards– most notably the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy (ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Decade): 2011–2020; Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy (ICC Cricketer of the Year) in 2017 and 2018; ICC Test Player of the Year (2018); ICC ODI Player of the Year (2012, 2017, 2018) and Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World (2016, 2017 and 2018). At the national level, he was awarded the Arjuna Award in 2013, the Padma Shri under the sports category in 2017, and the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award, the highest sporting honor in India, in 2018. He is rated as one of the world’s most famous athletes by ESPN and one of the most valuable athlete brands by Forbes.
In 2018, Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world. In 2020, he was ranked 66th in Forbes list of the top 100 highest-paid athletes in the world for the year 2020 with estimated earnings of over $26 million.