Jasprit Bumrah reveals how Virat Kohli broke the news of stepping down as Test captain to Indian team: 'We respect that'
Kohli had stepped down from the Test captaincy role earlier last week a day after the Test series ended in Cape Town, marking an end of an era in Indian cricket.
Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah opened up about Virat Kohli's decision to step down from Test captaincy after India's 2-1 Test series defeat against South Africa last week. Revealing that Kohli had talked to the team members regarding his decision to step down from the role, Bumrah remained tight-lipped on the proceedings, calling it a personal decision.
Kohli had stepped down from the Test captaincy role earlier last week a day after the Test series ended in Cape Town, marking an end of an era in Indian cricket. Kohli had earlier relinquished his T20I captaincy role in November and a month later was removed from ODI captaincy position with the selectors naming Rohit Sharma the new white-ball captain.
“Virat Kohli told us about leaving his Test captaincy in a team meeting. It’s his decision. He knows his body. He knows his frame of mind. We respect that. It’s been a pleasure to play under his captaincy. I made my debut under him”
“He brought in energy. He brought in the fitness culture. He was driven. Everybody moved in one direction under his leadership. He has been immense and he will still be the immense with his inputs,” said Bumrah ahead of the start of the three-match ODI series in Paarl against South Africa.
“He brought in energy. He brought in the fitness culture. He was driven. Everybody moved in one direction under his leadership. He has been immense and he will still be the immense with his inputs,” he continued.
“We understand the change. All of us have played enough cricket. As a team, we will make positive contributions to that," he added.
Talking about the series, Bumrah will be featuring in the vice-captaincy role while KL Rahul will be leading the Indian team after Rohit failed to recover in time from his hamstring injury.
India will play two of the three ODIs in Paarl, starting January 19, and the final tie will be played in Cape Town.
