"He does not want to be in any controversy" - Virat Kohli's childhood coach on his ward quitting Test captaincy
Virat Kohli's childhood coach, Rajkumar Sharma, recently revealed that the star cricketer's decision to relinquish the Test captaincy was not a hasty one. He mentioned that the 33-year-old did a lot of thinking before arriving at the decision.
Speaking on YouTube show Khelneeti, Sharma pointed out that Kohli prefers avoiding controversies. He also remarked that the champion batter wants to remain away from any kind of politics and would rather concentrate on contributing to the team's success.
Rajkumar Sharma said:
"Virat Kohli has taken the decision to relinquish the Test captaincy after a lot of thinking. He wants to enjoy his game and move on from here. He does not want to be in any controversy or indulge in any politics."
Kohli sent shockwaves across the cricketing world on Saturday, January 15, by resigning as India's Test captain following the team's series loss to South Africa. He took to his social media accounts to make the shocking announcement.
"Nobody stopped Virat Kohli from resigning" - Rajkumar Sharma
Sharma also confirmed that nobody from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) asked Kohli not to step down from the Test captaincy. He opined that everybody accepted his decision as it was Kohli's personal call to not continue as skipper.
Here's what he said:
"Nobody stopped Virat from resigning. Everybody accepted his decision, considering it was his personal choice to step down. I don't think anybody felt the need to ask him to continue."
He added that Kohli seemed "very relaxed" after giving up the captaincy. He noted that the right-hander wants to focus on his game. Sharma feels that the player can contribute significantly with this mindset and it would benefit the Indian team.
"He is quite relaxed and wants to concentrate on his game. It is good for the team if he is relaxed, as then he will be able to contribute more." - Sharma stated.
Virat Kohli has the most away wins for India in Tests as a captain 👏
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It is worth mentioning that Kohli had given up T20I captaincy after the T20 World Cup 2021 in UAE. He was later removed as ODI skipper in December last year. While Rohit Sharma has replaced him as the team's new white-ball skipper, the BCCI is yet to announce Kohli's successor in the longer format.