Virat Kohli will step down as India’s T20I captain after the T20 World Cup in the UAE next month, he announced in a statement on Twitter.
Despite stepping down as captain of the T20I team, he will continue to captain the Test and ODI teams.
Kohli has so far captained India in 45 Twenty 20 Internationals, winning 29 of them.
“Understanding workload is a very important thing and considering my immense workload over the last 8-9 years playing all 3 formats and captaining regularly for last 5-6 years, I feel I need to give myself space to be fully ready to lead the Indian Team in Test and ODI Cricket.” Kohli said.
“I have given everything to the Team during my time as T20 Captain and I will continue to do so for the T20 Team as a batsman moving forward”
“Of course, arriving at this decision took a lot of time. After a lot of contemplation and discussions with my close people, Ravi bhai and also Rohit, who have been an essential part of the leadership group, I’ve decided to step down as the T20 Captain after this T20 World Cup in Dubai in October.”
“I have also spoken to the secretary Mr Jay Shah and the President of BCCI Mr Sourav Ganguly along with all the selectors about the same. I will continue to serve Indian Cricket and the Indian Team to the best of my ability.” : he added.
In 2017, Kohli assumed the role of T20I captain following MS Dhoni’s resignation.
He has scored 1,502 runs at an average of 48.45 and a strike rate of 143.18, with 12 fifties, during his tenure as captain.
Kohli has emerged as the third-highest run-scorer in T20Is overall since the beginning of 2017.
His decision to step down as India’s T20I captain follows closely after the BCCI’s decision to assign MS Dhoni as the mentor of the India team for the upcoming T20 World Cup.
🇮🇳 ❤️ pic.twitter.com/Ds7okjhj9J
— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) September 16, 2021
