Saturday, January 15, 2022 marked the end of an era in Indian cricket as its star Virat Kohli announced that he was done with his tenure as captain. After deciding to step down as India's T20I captain and removed from the post in ODIs, Kohli took the same call for his Test career as well following India’s series loss to South Africa on Friday.
What made Kohli take the decision is something only he knows, but with his batting form dipping and the fact that Virat was not able to rekindle his 'run-machine' avatar could have played a part.
With the load of captaincy out of his way, Kohli the batsman could return to the fore and be back at his free-flowing best. Following the decision, reactions poured from all around the world with legends of the game reacting to the development. From Michael Vaughan and Shane Warne to Sachin Tendulkar and Sunil Gavaskar, everyone lauded Kohli for his contributions towards Indian cricket, which under him, has grown by leaps and bounds.
Joining the bandwagon is former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi, who shared his opinion of the newest story in Indian cricket. Afridi agrees with Kohli's decision, saying Virat has played enough cricket to know what is right and what's not. The phase Kohli is going through is something all players have experienced, reckons Afridi and pointed out it's time Kohli let go off the huge responsibility of captaincy if it means that he can enjoy his batting.
{{/usCountry}}Joining the bandwagon is former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi, who shared his opinion of the newest story in Indian cricket. Afridi agrees with Kohli's decision, saying Virat has played enough cricket to know what is right and what's not. The phase Kohli is going through is something all players have experienced, reckons Afridi and pointed out it's time Kohli let go off the huge responsibility of captaincy if it means that he can enjoy his batting.
{{/usCountry}}"It's fine in my opinion. Virat has played enough cricket and led the team well. And I believe this is the correct decision. There comes a stage where you can't handle pressure, and because of it, your own performances get affected. So, I think he has captained for a long time and at a great level. As a batsman, it's time he enjoys his cricket," Afridi said on the show ‘Game Set Match’ on Samaa TV.
Kohli goes out as India's most successful captain with 40 wins from 68 Tests, ahead of MS Dhoni, Sourav Ganguly and Mohammad Azharuddin. Kohli is fourth in the list, next only to greats Graeme Smith, Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting as captains with most wins and also fourth when it comes to Test captains with most runs.