Sourav Ganguly and Virat Kohli.
Sourav Ganguly and Virat Kohli. (PTI)

Virat Kohli on Saturday stunned the cricking world with his sudden decision of relinquishing captaincy in Tests. His decision comes after Team India lost the 3-match Test series to South Africa 2-1. Back in 2014, he led India for the first time in the longest format of the game after which he took the team to newer heights in the past seven years.

It’s a deniable fact that Virat Kohli was the best skipper to lead India in Test cricket. He led in 68 Test matches out of which the team registered victory in 40 games. 17 of them ended in a draw and lost 11 face-offs. He stands fourth on the list of captains with most Test wins after the likes of Graeme Smith, Ricky Ponting, and Steve Smith.

Virat Kohli[photo: Twitter]
Virat Kohli[photo: Twitter]

Virat Kohli’s Decision To Quit As Test Skipper Is A Personal One And BCCI Respects It: Sourav Ganguly

As Virat Kohli left his post, the cricket fraternity came forward to shower praise on the man who left no stone unturned in the past years to change the face of Indian cricket. Former captain and BCCI President Sourav Ganguly took to Twitter and called Virat Kohli a ‘great player’.

“Under Virats leadership, Indian cricket has made rapid strides in all formats of the game ..his decision is a personal one and BCCI respects it immensely ..he will be an important member to take this team to newer heights in the future. A great player. Well done,” Ganguly tweeted.

 

Virat Kohli on Saturday took to his social media accounts and posted a heartfelt message to announce his decision. He thanked every individual who was involved in his journey as a leader of the pack. He made a special mention to former captain and wicketkeeper MS Dhoni for believing in him and showing his trust.

Earlier in September 2021, he had said that he will step down from the T20I captaincy just ahead of the ICC T20I World Cup. It was later revealed that BCCI had asked him to rethink as BCCI didn’t want multiple captains in limited-overs cricket.

Virat Kohli Was Replaced By Rohit Sharma As Full Time White Ball Skipper

Following India’s narrow Test series loss to South Africa earlier this week, Virat Kohli on Saturday announced that he has decided to quit the Test captaincy. Earlier, Virat Kohli had relinquished the T20 captaincy after India’s campaign at the T20 World Cup in the UAE. He was then replaced by Rohit Sharma’s as India’s full-time white-ball skipper last month.

Virat Kohli with Rohit Sharma
Virat Kohli with Rohit Sharma IMAGE: AFP

Virat Kohli steps down from his role as India’s most successful Test captain, having recorded 40 wins in 68 matches. He is fourth in the list of captains with the most Test wins behind South Africa’s Graeme Smith (53) and Australian greats Ricky Ponting (43) and Steve Waugh (41).

Under his leadership, Team India reached new heights, including a Test series win in Australia. India also came close to winning the World Test Championship (WTC), losing out to New Zealand in the final. Virat Kohli won 40 matches, which is 13 more than MS Dhoni.

Virat Kohli captained India in 25 series. He won 18, lost six, and drew one series. Under him, India won 16 away Tests – the most for India, ahead of Sourav Ganguly who had won 11.

Virat Kohli has stepped down as captain of India’s Test team, with immediate effect, a day after losing the Test series to South Africa 2-1 with a seven-wicket loss in Cape Town. He took over as full-time Test captain in early 2015, when MS Dhoni had announced retirement in Australia, and ended up as India’s most successful Test captain ever.