Virat Kohli’s Childhood Coach Rajkumar Sharma Revealed Former’s Decision To Step Down As Test Skipper Was Not Taken In Haste

Virat Kohli recently stepped down as Test skipper. Virat Kohli’s childhood coach, Rajkumar Sharma, recently revealed that the star cricketer’s decision to relinquish the Test captaincy was not a hasty one. Rajkumar Sharma mentioned that the 33-year-old did a lot of thinking before arriving at the decision.

Speaking on YouTube show Khelneeti, Rajkumar Sharma pointed out that the former skipper prefers avoiding controversies. He also remarked that the champion batter wants to remain away from any kind of politics and would rather concentrate on contributing to the team’s success.

Virat Kohli Has Thought A Lot To Relinquish The Test Captaincy As He Doesn’t Want To Be Involved In Controversies: Rajkumar Sharma

Virat Kohli sent shockwaves across the cricketing world on Saturday, January 15, by resigning as India’s most successful Test captain with 40 wins in 68 matches following the team’s series loss to South Africa. He took to his social media accounts to make the shocking announcement.

Rajkumar Sharma said: “Kohli has taken the decision to relinquish the Test captaincy after a lot of thinking. He wants to enjoy his game and move on from here. He does not want to be in any controversy or indulge in any politics.”

Rajkumar Sharma also confirmed that nobody from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) asked Virat Kohli not to step down from the Test captaincy. He opined that everybody accepted his decision as it was his personal call to not continue as skipper.

“Nobody stopped Virat from resigning. Everybody accepted his decision, considering it was his personal choice to step down. I don’t think anybody felt the need to ask him to continue.”

He added that Virat Kohli seemed “very relaxed” after giving up the captaincy. Virat Kohli leaves captaincy with India at the top in the Test rankings and boasts of the best record among all Indian captains in the longest format.  He holds the record for most Test appearances as India Test captain (68) and he also holds the record for most Test wins by an Indian captain (40).

Rajkumar Sharma: Virat Kohli Wants To Be Relaxed And Concentrate On Road Ahead As A Batsman

Rajkumar Sharma noted that the right-hander wants to focus on his game. Rajkumar Sharma feels that the player can contribute significantly with this mindset and it would benefit the Indian team.

“He is quite relaxed and wants to concentrate on his game. It is good for the team if he is relaxed, as then he will be able to contribute more.” – Sharma stated.

It is worth mentioning that Virat Kohli had given up T20I captaincy after the T20 World Cup 2021 in UAE. He was later removed as ODI skipper in December last year. While Rohit Sharma has replaced him as the team’s new white-ball skipper, the BCCI is yet to announce Virat Kohli’s successor in the longer format.

The batsman will be next seen in action in the 3 match ODI series against South Africa, which begins on January 19. The series will also mark his first ODI appearance since being succeeded as captain by Rohit Sharma. However, the Mumbai-born Sharma will remain absent from the series due to fitness issues and KL Rahul will lead the team.

When India takes the field in Paarl on Wednesday 19th January, it will be the first time in any format since October 2016 that Virat Kohli will be playing only as a player and not as captain. Since the start of 2020, Virat Kohli has scored 560 runs in 12 ODIs, at an average of 46.66 and a strike rate of 90.90.