Virat Kohli wrote in his statement "I want to thank BCCI for giving me the opportunity to lead my country for such a long period of time and more importantly to all the teammates who bought into the vision for the team from day one and never gave up in any situation." 



image credit: bbc.com


A day after India's 1-2 loss to in the 3 match test series against South Africa, Virat Kohli stepped down as team India test captain. Kohli said in a statement posted on social media "It's been 7 years of hard work, toil and relentless perseverance everyday to take the team in the right direction. I've done the job with absolute honesty and left nothing out there. Every thing has to come to a halt at some stage and for me as Test Captain of India, it's now." Team India won 48 out of 60 Test matches while playing under the captain ship of Virat Kohli making him the most successful Indian test captain ever.


The productive right-hander said he has consistently given his "120%" in all that he has done on the cricket field for team India. Virat said "There have been many ups and also some downs along the journey, but never has there been a lack of effort or lack of belief. I have always believed in giving my 120 percent in everything I do, and if I can't do that, I know it's not the right thing to do. I have absolute clarity in my heart and I cannot be dishonest to my team."


He thanked his teammates and BCCI for supporting him throughout the journey as Indian Test Team Captain for seven years.


Kohli said in a statement "I want to thank BCCI for giving me the opportunity to lead my country for such a long period of time and more importantly to all the teammates who bought into the vision for the team from day one and never gave up in any situation."


Outstandingly, Virat Kohli was replaced as India's full-time white-ball captain by Rohit Sharma in December 2021. He had ventured down from T20I captaincy toward the finish of India's ICC T20 World Cup in November. Kohli was then eliminated as captain in ODIs by the selectors before the beginning of the visit to South Africa.


Virat Kohli captained India to triumph in each home series since assuming responsibility, the last being in December 2021 against New Zealand. He won Test series in Sri Lanka, West Indies and two times in Australia. He holds a 2-1 lead over England in an away series; the last match was deferred because of a Covid flare-up and will be played in the not so distant future.


As Captain Kohli neglected to win a series in South Africa in two attempts and has likewise lost a series each in England and New Zealand. He drove the group to the last of the debut World Test Championship, which the group lost to New Zealand in an one-off match at Southampton last year.


Virat Kohli was delegated Test Captain in 2015 when MS Dhoni Quits as a Captain in the center of the series against Australia.