Virat Kohli to step down as India's T20I captain after T20 World Cup 2021

In a surprising turn of events, Virat Kohli has announced he’ll step down as India’s T20I captain after the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2021. Kohli, who has been India’s all-format captain since January 2017, broke the major news through a note on social media. Calling himself fortunate for leading the national team, Kohli cited his ‘immense workload’ a major factor behind the call.

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The 32-year-old also said he wants to give himself space to concentrate in Test and ODIs. It has to be noted that Kohli will continue leading in the other two formats and will even play T20Is as a batsman. However, the T20 World Cup will be his last leadership assignment in the shortest international format. In 46 T20Is as captain, Kohli led India to 27 wins and he would be raring to take his side to glory in the forthcoming global event.

“I have been fortunate enough to not only represent India but also lead the Indian Cricket Team to my utmost capability. I thank everyone who has supported me in my journey as the Captain of the Indian Cricket Team. I couldn’t have done it without them – the boys, the support staff, the selection committee, my coaches and each and every Indian who prayed for us to win,” read Kohli’s post.

I have given everything to the Team during my time as T20 Captain: Virat Kohli

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“I feel I need to give myself space to be fully ready to lead the Indian Team in Test and ODI Cricket. I have given everything to the Team during my time as T20 Captain and I will continue to do so for the T20 captain as a batsman moving forward,” it added.

Notably, Kohli also mentioned he made the call after a lot of discussion with head coach Ravi Shastri and team’s white-ball vice-captain Rohit Sharma. “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,” Kohli wrote in the post.

With Kohli stepping down, his deputy Rohit Sharma is all but likely to take over the charge. Notably, a T20 World Cup is also set to take place next year. Hence, it would be interesting to see what BCCI has in plans.

🇮🇳 ❤️ pic.twitter.com/Ds7okjhj9J

— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) September 16, 2021