Virat Kohli wanted to quit India’s captaincy and it was purely his decision, reveals BCCI treasurer

08/04/2022

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BCCI treasurer Arun Singh Dhumal has revealed that Virat Kohli's decision of giving up India's full-time captaincy role was completely based on his choice. Kohli decided to step down from T20I captaincy after the last World Cup and gave up leadership duties from ODIs and Tests after that.

Virat Kohli was India's full-time captain for all three formats until the last T20 World Cup. Kohli announced his decision of stepping down from the T20Is' captaincy before the tournament even began and then, he gave up ODIs and Tests captaincy as well. The debate regarding his decision was so noisy that many even thought Kohli made the decision because of the pressure from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

However, it seems like that was not the case, at least according to the BCCI treasurer Arun Singh Dhumal. In a recent interview with renowned journalist Vimal Kumar, Dhumal revealed Kohli himself made the decision ahead of the T20 World Cup, and everyone accepted that because of his immense contributions to Indian cricket.

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"As far as the issue of captaincy is concerned, it was his (Virat's) call. He decided that mujhe ab nahi karni hai captaincy (that I don’t want to captain). It is possible that someone feels it’s best to do it after the World Cup, but that is their point of view. But he wanted to quit, and it was purely his decision. And we respected it. He has contributed so much to Indian cricket that everyone in the cricket board respects him. We would like to see Virat in action on the ground," Dhumal said in the Youtube video.

Further, when asked about Kohli's lean patch, Dhumal remarked Kohli is not just an ordinary player and they all want him to get back to his vintage form soon.

"See… as far as Virat is concerned, he is not a simple player. He is great and his contribution to Indian cricket is unparalleled. It is outstanding. So, such conversations (the board is trying to sideline Kohli) keep taking place in the media and it does not affect us. We want him to return to form soon, and as far as team selection is concerned, we leave it to the selectors. It is their call as to how they want to go about it," Dhumal added.

Kohli is expected to make his return in India's Asia Cup squad.