Kohli to step down as T20 captain after WC
MUMBAI: Virat Kohli on Thursday announced that the upcoming Twenty20 World Cup in UAE will be his last as India’s captain in the format, capping weeks of speculation over the possibility of splitting the leadership of the national team.
The announcement, made by Kohli on social media, came exactly a month before the tournament begins, and three days before the restart of the Indian Premier League (IPL), where Kohli captains the Royal Challengers Bangalore.
“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 in his statement.
“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... I’ve decided to step down as the T20 Captain after this T20 World Cup in Dubai in October,” Kohli said in the statement.
Kohli mentioned Rohit
Sharma as “an essential part of the leadership group” and as one of the people he consulted before taking the call amid speculation that the latter will take over as captain.
People aware of the matter said that Kohli called the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Sourav Ganguly and secretary Jay Shah to inform them of his decision.
“I have been in discussions with Virat and the leadership team for the last six months and the decision has been thought through,” Shah said in a statement.
Yet, only a few days back, BCCI officials denied reports that Kohli would step down after the World Cup. Kohli making the announcement on social media before the BCCI put out an official statement added to the intrigue.
Also, while Kohli said in his statement that he took the decision feeling the need to give himself “space to be fully ready to lead Indian team in Test and ODI cricket”, Shah in his BCCI statement an hour later pointedly did not mention Kohli as Test or ODI captain: “Virat will continue to contribute as a player and as a senior member of the side in shaping the future course of
Indian cricket,” Shah said.
Board officials say leadership roles in other formats will now be decided by the selectors.
“That’s the way it always is. The selectors will decide after the World Cup,” Sourav Ganguly said.
Ganguly said he got a call from Kohli minutes before he made the announcement.
“He told me this evening. I told him if that’s what he wanted, fair enough,” Ganguly said.
Sharma, who has already led India in 19 T20s with great success, and has won an unmatched five IPL titles in eight seasons with Mumbai Indians, is the clear favourite to lead in the shortest format.
Kohli saying that he discussed his decision with Sharma was in sharp contrast with the scenario two years ago, when there were reports of a rift between the two players. In 2020, senior BCCI officials had talks with the two players to ensure that there would be no division within the team, according an official who did not wish to be named.
“Kohli was told that so long as he delivered as captain, he would remain in charge,” the official said. “Sharma was told that the captainship will happen when it has to happen.”
When cricket resumed after the pandemic-induced lockdowns late last year, Sharma and Kohli seemed to have put their differences behind them.
While Sharma has found new and unprecedented success as a Test opener, Kohli’s form as a batsman has been wobbly over the past several months.
Kohli’s decision also comes a few weeks after reports that Ravi Shastri will step down as India’s head coach after the T20 World Cup, and just days after the BCCI decided that former captain MS Dhoni will be part of the coaching staff as a “mentor” at the World Cup.
Will this flux affect team morale heading into a major ICC event?
“I don’t think it will,” said Ganguly. “They are mature enough to handle these things.”
Kohli’s record as India’s T20 captain is impressive. He took charge in 2017 after Dhoni stepped down, and has won 27 of the 45 T20s in which he has led India. His form with the bat too has been great — as captain, he has 1,502 runs at an average of 48.45 and a strike rate of 143.18. This makes him not just the highest run getter in T20s for India in this period, but also the third highest in the world.
However, at ICC events across formats, Kohli’s lack of a title has seen the pressure on his captaincy build: India lost the inaugural World Test Championship to New Zealand in June, the final of the 2017 Champions Trophy to Pakistan, and lost in the semi-final at the 2019 ODI World Cup.
The 2021 edition will be the first T20 World Cup in which Kohli will lead India.