Virat Kohli stepped down as India's Test captain on 15 January 2022. It came a day after India lost the series in South Africa 2-1, with a seven-wicket defeat in Cape Town in the decider.
The record he left
He had led India in 68 Tests, winning 40, losing 17 and drawing 11. No Indian captain has won more Tests, and only Graeme Smith, Ricky Ponting and Steve Waugh have more wins as captain in the format. His India side won a Test series in Australia and reached the top of the ICC Test rankings.
Some context from his time in charge: his first Test series win as captain came in Sri Lanka, and in 2018 he led India to their first Test series win in Australia. In 2018 he also became the No. 1 ranked Test batter.
What he said
Kohli posted a statement on social media. In it he said it had been "seven years of hard work, toil and relentless perseverance" and that he had "done the job with absolute honesty and left nothing out there." He also wrote that he always believed in giving 120 percent, and if he could not do that, it was not the right thing to do.
He gave no further detail about the decision, and this post will not guess at one.
How the timeline fits
Kohli first led India in red-ball cricket on a temporary basis during the 2014 tour of Australia, and took the job permanently in 2015. By January 2022 he was no longer India's white-ball captain either, as Rohit Sharma had taken over the limited-overs roles a few weeks earlier.
He kept playing Tests under later captains and announced his retirement from the format on 12 May 2025.
Sources: ICC, The Guardian, Sky Sports. Retirement date from Virat Kohli (Wikipedia).
No comments:
Post a Comment