Virat Kohli on Saturday stepped down as the skipper of the Indian Test Team bringing an end to his captaincy era. While Virat Kohli ended his stint as one of the most successful Test skippers, he will be soon seen playing under a new skipper. Former India and World Cup-winning skipper Kapil Dev during an interview stated that it is time for Virat Kohli to try and play under the younger skipper by putting his ego aside.
While the next India Test captain is yet to be announced, Kapil Dev while speaking to Mid Day said that he welcomed Virat Kohli’s decision to step down as the skipper for the Test team. The former all-rounder said, “He has looked tense in recent times, appeared to be under a lot of pressure. So giving up the captaincy was an option in order to play freely. He opted for that. He is a mature man. I am sure he must have thought hard before taking this important decision. Maybe, he wasn’t enjoying the captaincy. We have to support him and wish him luck,”.
Kapil Dev during his playing days played under the captaincy of Krishnamachari Srikkanth and Mohammad Azharuddin. With speculation arising about Rohit Sharma talking over Test captaincy, Kapil Dev said that he would like to see Virat Kohli thrive under a new skipper by keeping said his ego. He added, “Even Sunil Gavaskar played under me. I played under K Srikkanth and Azharuddin. I had no ego. Virat will have to give up his ego and play under a young cricketer. This will help him and Indian cricket. Virat should guide the new captain, new players. We cannot lose Virat, the batsman…no way.”
During the time as skipper of Team India, Virat Kohli created many histories and went on to win the Test series abroad. Under Kohli’s captaincy, Team India became a formidable unit and also the team to beat. While Virat Kohli is spoon set to play a century of matches news agency had reported that the BCCI offered a farewell match to Kohli and asked him to lead the Indian squad one last time in his 100th Test match. However, the former skipper refused to accept the offer saying, “One match makes no difference. That’s not how I am”.
Talking about Virat Kohli’s stats as skipper the cricketer led India in 68 Test matches out of which the team won 40, drew 11, and lost 17 games. It was Kohli who led the Indian side to its maiden Test series win in Australia in 2018. Kohli also won a Test series in Sri Lanka and West Indies. Earlier this year, Kohli guided the Indian side to secure an unassailable 2-1 lead in the four-match Test series against England.