Opener KL
Rahul on Tuesday hailed outgoing Indian skipper Virat Kohli as “a leader who
led by example” as the Men in Blue crashed out of the ongoing T20 World Cup to
bring an end to his captaincy era.

Sharing an
emotional post on Instagram, Rahul thanked the fans, outgoing coaches and said
the team will “learn and grow” from their disappointing World Cup campaign.

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“Not the
ideal World Cup result for us, but we learn and grow. Grateful to all our fans
for the love and support. Thank you to our coaches for helping us grow as
cricketers,” Rahul captioned the post. “A big shout-out to @virat.kohli for
being a leader who led by example and for everything you have done for us.”

Kohli
played his last game as captain in the shortest format against Namibia in their
Super 12 Group 2 fixture on Monday. India won their last three games but failed
to reach the semi-finals following consecutive defeats to Pakistan and New Zealand
to start their campaign.

After disappointing
performances against Pakistan and New Zealand, Rahul scored three consecutive
fifties against Afghanistan, Scotland and Namibia to help India finish their World
Cup campaign on a high. The Karnataka batsman finished as India’s highest
run-scorer in the showpiece event – 194 from five matches.

Also Read | Kiwis have ‘moved on’ from 2019 heartbreak vs England, says Williamson

India
finished third in Group 2, behind New Zealand and leaders Pakistan, who are the
only unbeaten side and have won all five games so far. England and Australia
qualified for the semi-finals from Group 1, with South Africa narrowly missing
out due to net run rate.

England
will take on New Zealand in the first semi-final on Wednesday, while Pakistan and
Australia will contest for the second final berth on Thursday.

India will next
take on New Zealand at home in three T20Is and two Test matches starting
November 17. Rahul Dravid is replacing Ravi Shastri as India’s head coach, while
the rest of the support staff, along with the next Indian T20I captain, are yet
to be confirmed.