Kohli to hand over T20 baton to Rohit after World Cup

DUBAI: Virat Kohli on Thursday announced he will step down as India’s T20 skipper after the T20 World Cup in UAE but will continue to lead the side in ODIs and Test cricket, a decision that paves the way for Rohit Sharma to captain in the shortest format.

“I’ve decided to step down as the T20 captain after this T20 World Cup in Dubai in October,” the 32-year-old Kohli, who is here to compete in the IPL that resumes on Sunday, said in a statement posted on his Twitter page.

“Understanding workload is a very important thing and considering my immense workload over the last 8-9 years playing all three formats and captaining regularly for last five to six years, I feel I need to give myself space to be fully ready to lead Indian team in Test and ODI cricket,” Kohli explained.

For some time, there has been speculation surrounding Kohli’s future as whiteball captain especially in the backdrop of Rohit’s brilliant track record of winning five IPL titles for Mumbai Indians. “I have given my everything to the Team during my time as T20 captain and I will continue to do so as a batsman moving forward,” he further added.

The decision, Kohli said, was taken after consulting head coach Ravi Shastri, his heir apparent Rohit, BCCI President Sourav Ganguly and secretary Jay Shah.

I have given my everything to the Team during my time as T20 captain and I will continue to do so as a batsman moving forward — Virat Kohli