Virat Kohli to step down as T20I captain: Three takeaways from his announcement
- Kohli took up India's Test captaincy after MS Dhoni's retirement
- The Indian captain took to social media to confirm the developments
- The workload management in Indian cricket is not a new concept
Virat Kohli on Thursday announced that he will step down as India’s T20I captain after the ICC T20 World Cup in UAE and Oman in October-November. The Indian captain took to social media to confirm the developments.
In 2014, Kohli took up India’s Test captaincy after MS Dhoni’s retirement, and has been leading the limited-overs side since 2017.
Under Virat Kohli’s captaincy, India played 45 matches, winning 27, which gives Kohli a 65.11 win percentage. Kohli made the announcement through a post on social media, which highlighted reasons leading to this decision.
Here are three takeaways from Kohli’s big announcement.
a. Workload Management
The workload management in Indian cricket is not a new concept. The BCCI has ensured that its top players are rested once in a while, and Kohli can be one of the examples to it. Kohli has been given a break from his hectic schedule on more than one occasion in the past. Kohli did not play a couple of big tournaments such as the Asia Cup and the Nidahas Trophy in 2018. With his desire to focus more on Tests and ODI, where Kohli has been pretty good, managing his workload going ahead with the 2023 World Cup is going to be crucial.
Also read: Virat Kohli to step down as India’s T20 Captain after T20 World Cup
b. Rohit Sharma to be the frontrunner for India captain
Rohit Sharma can be one of the key candidates to lead India post the T20I World Cup. Rohit has been a phenomenal captain, leading Mumbai Indians to five IPL titles. Meanwhile, Kohli is still searching for his first IPL win as skipper.
c. Kohli still on a hunt for ICC trophy
Though Virat Kohli will be stepping down from the captaincy, he will still continue to lead in the 50-overs format. This makes it clear that he still has hopes of winning an ICC trophy. Presently, Kohli has led India in three major ICC events – 2017 Champions Trophy, World Cup 2019 and the World Test Championship. In all three, India came close but stumbled upon the final hurdles.
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