Virat Kohli stepped down as the captain of the Indian cricket team after they lost a Test series to South Africa, with the BCCI still not announcing who will replace him.
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Virat Kohli stepping down as the captain of the Indian cricket team shocked the cricket world. After losing the series against South Africa 1-2, Virat Kohli made the announcement on his social media. Kohli cited that he gave 120 percent but now he could not continue giving it his all for India. Thus, for the first time since 2012, Virat Kohli will not be the captain of any team. He stepped away from the IPL captaincy after Royal Challengers Bangalore lost in the IPL 2021 eliminator. Before the ICC World T20, Kohli announced he would step away as captain of T20s after the end of the tournament.
Prior to the tour of South Africa, Kohli was asked to relinquish the ODI captaincy. In Tests, this move has stunned everyone. According to an NDTV report, a BCCI official has said that no name has yet been suggested by the board to replace Virat Kohli. India’s next Test series is at home against Sri Lanka. The BCCI has said there is ample time to decide on the captain and a name will be announced in due course. Rohit Sharma is the designated vice-captain but he has missed the tour to South Africa due to injury.
In 68 matches that Virat Kohli has captained India, he has won 40 matches and lost 17 of them. He has the best success ratio with only Ricky Ponting and Graeme Smith ahead. Statistically, he is the best captain that India has ever produced. He is better than Sourav Ganguly and MS Dhoni as far as numbers are concerned.
Read – In numbers: Virat Kohli has a unique legacy as Indian cricket team captain
There are many candidates who can fill up the captaincy void in Tests. Ajinkya Rahane might step up as the captain but his form has not been good for the last couple of years. Rishabh Pant has been touted as future captaincy material, with many experts including former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar stating that he could do a good job. R Ashwin is also leadership material but apart from Kapil Dev, Anil Kumble and Ravi Shastri, no bowler has taken up Indian captaincy on a full-time role.
In his Tweet, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly hailed the contributions of Kohli as captain. “Under Virat’s 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 ..@BCCI @imVkohli,” Sourav Ganguly said.
Prior to the tour of South Africa, Virat Kohli and the BCCI were involved in a miscommunication over his ODI captaincy.
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