But on Saturday, he decided to step away from the Indian Test captaincy, busting an era in Indian cricket in which his resignation was announced. Kohli’s announcement came after a 1-2 loss to South Africa – a series that India were considered favorites to win before the start.
The start of the tour was controversial when Kohli held a press meet just before take off, which he denied BCCI President Sourav GangulyHas a statement that he was asked to reconsider his decision to step down as T20I captain.
While the BCCI had not asked Kohli to resign as Test captain, he was well aware of the criticism of India’s middle order. “Technically, Virat was sailing in the same boat as few others in terms of battling for runs. There have been 30 international innings now and he has gone without a century. So, on what grounds can BCCI take a decision on Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane alone? The board had to adopt a good approach,” sources told TOI.
What is your opinion on the timing of Kohli’s decision to step down as Test captain?
Kohli, who has dominated the charts for a long time, has now slipped to the ninth spot in the ICC’s list of leading Test batsmen. Rohit Sharma has reached the fifth position. Kohli’s on-field behavior has also come under frequent criticism – the latest example being his anger at the stump mic against the DRS decision in the third Test – and the BCCI wanted head coach Rahul Dravid to speak to him.
Kohli probably felt it was time for him to step down, and with the T20 captaincy in place, he made sure it would be his call rather than the Indian cricket board’s.
The outgoing captain called up BCCI secretary Jay Shah during the day to inform that he was stepping down from the role. After this he issued a statement on social media saying, “I want to thank BCCI for giving me the opportunity to lead my country for so long and more importantly to all those teammates.” Who bought the vision I had. The team from day one and never gave up in any situation.”
The decision to step down as the white-ball captain was also not on Kohli and it was his call when he resigned as the T20 captain in September last year. However, the BCCI only ensured that the national selectors did not see logic in splitting the white-ball captaincy and hence Sharma was appointed captain for both the formats.
The board and selectors are of the clear opinion that major changes will be made in the team going forward. According to sources, even before announcing his resignation, Kohli was unusually subdued throughout the tour. He let Dravid take the decision, be it team selection or strategy, even as vice-captain KL Rahul grew in stature in the dressing room.
He was more relaxed on tour and mingled with as many members of the touring crew as possible. Interestingly, in his farewell note he opted not to mention Dravid, even as he thanked the former coach Ravi Shastri for support.
India’s win in Australia in 2019-20 is the last series that was won under Kohli’s captaincy overseas between 2018 and now (the series against England was pushed to India 2-1 and will be completed). The series win in the 2020-21 season came under Rahane’s leadership and even though there is an argument that it was a team led by Kohli, the overall performance chart for all the senior members of this Indian team remains the same.
“Technically, Rahane has now played 28 international innings without a century, Pujara 48. So, it could not have been about Rahane and Pujara and Virat understands it very well,” the sources said.
For some time now, there have been reports of players being unhappy with the set-up and complaining to the BCCI. “There was some truth, some half-truths, and a lot of false information that was floating around. But one thing is for sure – this Indian team was going through a period of turmoil inside. A fresh start is the only way forward,” said sources.
Kohli is now expected to play his 100th Test match in Bangalore, while in search of that elusive 71st international century, under a new captain.
(with inputs from Arani Basu)
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