Sourav Ganguly opens up on Virat Kohli stepping down as T20I skipper

It is widely known that Indian captain Virat Kohli has planned to resign from T20I captaincy after the T20 World Cup in 2021. Kohli made this decision not long ago, and he stated that he needs to better manage his workload at this moment. It was speculated at the time that he was under pressure from the BCCI and management to make this decision.

In a recent turn of events, BCCI President Sourav Ganguly addressed the issue, saying that he was astonished to see Kohli’s decision and that he was surprised to learn this. “Nobody ever complimented him on his captaincy. I was caught aback when Virat Kohli announced his retirement as T20 captain – this choice ought to have been made after the England tour. We didn’t put any pressure on him, and we didn’t tell him anything,” Ganguly remarked on Aaj Tak’s Salam Cricket show.

Kohli posted a message on his social media accounts saying that he needs to manage his workload and that he has been captaining across formats for the past 5-6 years. He went on to say that this decision was made in order to provide his batting a good space, and he made it after a lengthy conversation with Ravi Shastri and Rohit Sharma.

“Understanding workload is critical, and given my enormous exertion over the last 8-9 years playing all three formats and captaining frequently for the last 5-6 years, I believe I need to allow myself space to be properly prepared to lead the Indian team in Test and ODI cricket. During my time as T20 Captain, I gave my all for the team, and I will continue to do so as a batter for the T20 Team in the future. Of course, it took a long time to get to this choice. I’ve decided to step down as the T20 Captain 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, after this T20 World Cup in Dubai in October,” read a portion of Virat Kohli’s note when making the decision.