Virat Kohli on Thursday took to online media to declare that he will venture down as captain of the Indian cricket crew in T20Is after the consummation of the impending ICC T20 World Cup, which is due to take place in UAE and Oman from October 17 to November 14.
He will keep leading the squad in Test cricket and ODIs, as announced on Thursday (September 16) in a statement on Twitter.
Kohli said he showed up at the choice to more readily deal with his captaincy workload in the Test and ODI design, having talked about the matter with mentor Ravi Shastri and vice-captain Rohit Sharma.
There were rumours that Virat Kohli wants to focus on improving batting and manage his workload. Having led India exceptionally well for over five years across all formats, this is quite an achievement itself.
VIRAT KOHLI’S AS A T20I CAPTAIN
Virat Kohli assumed took over the T20I captaincy from MS Dhoni in 2017, with his first series was the three T20Is against England in January-February 2017, when India won 2-1.
To date, Kohli has captained India in 45 matches, with 29 wins (remembering two Super Over triumphs against New Zealand for January 2020), 14 losses, and two no outcomes. The forthcoming occasion in UAE will be Kohli’s sole captaincy task for India in a T20 World Cup.
Virat Kohli, the highest run-getter in T20Is and the only men’s cricketer to cross 3000 T20I runs, averages 48.45 as T20I captain, with 12 half-centuries including a professional best of 94 not out against West Indies in December 2019 as India pursued down 208 in this game.
In a media statement from the BCCI, Saurav Ganguly recognized Virat Kohli’s commitments as T20I captain. “Virat has been a genuine resource for Indian Cricket and has driven easily. He is perhaps the best captain in all the formats. The choice has been made remembering the future guide.
We express gratitude toward Virat for his gigantic exhibition as the T20I Captain. We want him to enjoy all that life has to offer for the forthcoming World Cup and then some and expectation that he keeps on scoring a lot of runs for India.”
Jay Shah, the BCCI secretary, added: “We have a clear roadmap for Team India. Considering the workloads and ensuring that we have a smooth transition, Mr. Virat Kohli has decided to step down as T20I Captain after the upcoming World Cup. I have been in discussions with Virat and the leadership team for the last six months and the decision has been thought through. Virat will continue to contribute as a player and as a senior member of the side in shaping the future course of Indian cricket.”
ROHIT SHARMA TO BE THE NEW SKIPPER?
Undoubtedly Rohit Sharma has proven his abilities as a captain in the T20 format. He has led India before in the absence of Virat Kohli and has not failed to impress. He has a terrific record while leading India in T20Is.
Sharma has led India in 19 T20Is, having won 15 of them, and India has lost only four T20Is in its leadership. The 34-year-old has a win percentage of 78.94 as captain in T20Is and not to forget IPL.
Over the years, Sharma has become the most successful captain in the Indian Premier League (IPL) trophies. Under him, the MI has been crowned champions five times (2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2020). On the other hand, Kohli is still in search of his maiden IPL trophy. So it is fair to say that Rohit reads the game well in the shortest format.
It will be interesting to see BCCI’s plan for the new skipper. Will they focus on grooming a new captain from the young generation or handing over the captaincy to India’s white-ball Vice-captain Rohit Sharma?
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