Virat Kohli announced Thursday that he is going to step down as the Indian cricket team’s T20 Captain after T20 World Cup in Dubai. There had been rumours leading to Kohli’s announcement that he will be stepping down from white-ball captaincy which had been rejected by the BCCI treasurer.

Also Read | Virat Kohli’s report card as India’s T20 captain

“I have fortunate enough to not only represent India but also lead the Indian Cricket team to my utmost capability. I thank everyone who has supported my journey as the Captain of the Indian Cricket Team. I couldn’t have done it without them — the boys, the support staff, the selection committee, my coaches and each and every Indian who prayed for us to win,” said Virat Kohli, one of India’s most successful cricket captains, on his Twitter post. 

The current team India captain cited his “immense workload” over the last 8-9 years across all formats as the leading reason behind his decision. “Understanding workload is a very important thing and considering my immense workload over the next 8-9 years playing all 3 formats and captaining regularly for the last 5-6 years, I feel the need to give myself space to be fully ready to lead the Indian Team in Test and ODI cricket,” Kohli wrote. 

Also Read | Rohit to replace Kohli as India’s white-ball captain post T20 WC: Report

In 45 T20s, India have registered 27 victories and have seen 14 losses under Kohli. In ODIs, Virat Kohli has lead India in 95 ODIs and with 65 victories and 27 defeats, Kohli’s team India has a winning percentage of 70.43. 

Virat Kohli said that that he took the decision after consulting head coach Ravi Shastri and Kohli’s heir apparent Rohit Sharma as well as BCCI President Saurav Ganguly and secretary Jay Shah. The T20 World Cup starts on October 17.