Virat Kohli shocks India as he STEPS DOWN as their Test captain after the series loss to South Africa… as he insists he’s ‘left nothing out there’ following seven years in charge
- Virat Kohli has shocked the cricket world by stepping down as India Test captain
- Kohli, 33, said he had ‘left nothing out there’ during his seven years in charge
- Kohli had already stepped down as T20 captain and was stripped of the ODI captaincy
Virat Kohli has made the shock announcement that he is stepping down as India Test captain with immediate effect.
Kohli released a heartfelt statement on social media saying that after seven years in the role, ‘everything has to come to a halt at some stage and for me as Test captain of India, it’s now’.
The 33-year-old is one of India’s biggest sports stars and the longest serving Indian Test captain ever, at 66 Test matches. He recently oversaw India’s 2-1 series defeat away against South Africa.
Virat Kohli has announced he is stepping down as India Test captain after seven years in the job
Kohli, who is India’s longest serving captain, made the decision after a 2-1 series loss to South Africa
Kohli, who has 66 Test matches as India captain, released this statement on social media
Kohli revealed that he cannot give the effort and dedication he once did to the role and that the time has come for someone else to take the reins.
‘I have always believed in giving my 120 per cent in everything I do, and if I can’t do that, I know it’s not the right thing to do,’ his statement continues.
‘I have absolute clarity in my heart and I cannot be dishonest with my team.’
Kohli’s stellar tenure as captain saw several records broken. With 39 victories, he is India’s most successful Test captain, and despite the pressures of being in the leadership role of the world’s biggest cricket nation, Kohli’s 20 centuries are the most by an Indian captain.
Kohli, 33, has the most Test wins as India captain – 39 – as well as the most centuries – 20
He has also scored a remarkable seven double centuries as India Test captain.
The announcement ends Kohli’s tenure as captain across all three formats of international cricket.
He had already announced his stepping down as T20 captain after the World Cup in October, which saw India disastrously knocked out at the Super 12 stage.
He was then summarily stripped of the one-day international captaincy, with the BCCI announcing Rohit Sharma as the new captain.
In a tense press conference, Kohli revealed that the BCCI had not told him of his sacking as ODI captain ahead of announcing Sharma.
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk