'Not everything's smooth within the set-up': Ex-Pakistan captain suspects Kohli quit Test captaincy as ‘he’s had enough'
Former Pakistan skipper list major reasons as to why Virat Kohli may have decided to quit Test captaincy despite having a lot left within him.
India's most successful Test captain, yet, Virat Kohli stepped down from the role on Saturday evening. The news, as expected, spread like wildfire and sent the cricketing world into a frenzy. From the moment Kohli shared his letter on Twitter, fans and experts have been busy trying to figure out what the actual reason could be as they suspect some tension within the camp. The latest person to jump on the bandwagon is Salman Butt.
Former Pakistan skipper believes that change in the coaching staff, support staff, and the string of controversies of late led to the 33-year-old calling time on his captaincy stint after 7 years. He added that there was no way this was the right time for Kohli, who holds the record of most wins as India's Test captain with 40 out of 68 matches, to relinquish the role.
"After reading his note on Twitter, I got a vibe that he's had enough. And this is not the age where a player goes, "okay, I am done. Someone else please take over". He still has 5 years on him and it's not like he's quitting cricket all together.
"I am getting a feeling that not everything is smooth within the set-up. One of the other reason could be the absence of like-mindedness. There was organizational set-up, wherein Ravi Shastri was present and his crew that worked with Kohli like a machine. (Now that they have left), I feel there is an issue with compatibility also and when that happens, everything else starts mattering," explained Butt.
Kohli only lost 17 matches as captain, while the team played out 11 draws. In his letter, he had thanked his teammates for working him with to bring his vision to life, his former coach Ravi Shastri, and his good friend and former skipper MS Dhoni. It's the end of an era, indeed.