3 talking points from Virat Kohli's retirement statement
In a shocking development, Virat Kohli announced that he is stepping down as the captain of India's Test team on Saturday
Kohli, who had quit his captaincy in T20 Internationals (T20Is) in November last year was also removed from ODI captaincy soon after. This ended his seven-year-long stint at the help of India's red-ball team, a day after a 2-1 series defeat in South Africa.
In the statement, Kohli wrote:
"It's been seven years of hard work, toil and relentless perseverance every day to take the team in the right direction. I've done the job with absolute honesty and left nothing out there."
The 33-year-old went on add:
"Everything has to come to a halt at some stage, and for me as Test captain of India, it's now. 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."
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Kohli went on to thank the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), his teammates and former head coach Ravi Shastri and the rest of the support staff. Shastri had overseen a majority of Kohli's stint as India's Test skipper. Kohli also thanked MS Dhoni, who was his predecessor.
We analyze three key talking points from Virat Kohli's statement.
#1 "Everything has to come to a halt..."
In his statement, Virat Kohli writes:
"Everything has to come to a halt at some stage, and for me as Test captain of India, it's now."
This bit is particularly interesting. In the statement announcing his retirement from T20Is, Kohli had cited workload management and written that he was taking the call as he needed to give himself 'space to be fully ready to lead the Indian Team in Test and ODI Cricket'.
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Kohli was then relieved of his captaincy duties in ODI cricket, which led to a lot of furore and speculation of a rift with the board. However, with India having won two series in Australia and leading the series in England, few would have anticipated Kohli stepping down from captaincy in Tests.
Even in South Africa, India went down fighting hard in difficult conditions and Kohli also missed one of the matches with injury.
Given Virat Kohli's statement in November, him saying that now is the time for him to step down from captaincy in Tests is surprising, to say the least.
#2 "I have absolute clarity in my heart"
Virat Kohli emphasized that there were no second thoughts in his mind about his decision, claiming that he would be 'dishonest to the team' if he continued as a captain if he wasn't doing it with complete conviction. Kohli wrote:
"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 with my team."
Despite not showing on the field, Kohli's statement seems to indicate that he doesn't believe he can lead the team any longer to the best of his abilities and wants to focus solely on performing with the bat.
While he has been a player for India in the past, Kohli's statement indicates that there might be others in the squad better-suited to lead the side.
#3 "To Ravi bhai..."
Virat Kohli thanked his teammates for making his journey as Test captain 'memorable and beautiful'. He then went on to write:
"To Ravi bhai and the support group who were the engine behind this vehicle that moved us upwards in Test cricket consistently, you all have played a massive role in bringing this vision to life."
Ravi Shastri was, of course, the head coach for a majority of Kohli's stint as captain. He oversaw both the Test series wins in Australia, as well as the 2021 series in England, which India are still leading, with the fifth Test postponed to July 2022.
Virat Kohli ensured that he gave credit where it was due as Shastri played a key role in helping build the Indian Test team along with Kohli. Shastri backed Kohli in his dream to build a bowling attack that would consistently take 20 wickets in overseas Tests.
It was a classy touch from Virat Kohli to also thank former captain MS Dhoni, who vouched for him to take over as captain of the side.