"That is a big life lesson" - Saba Karim on what may have influenced Virat Kohli to quit RCB captaincy

Virat Kohli will step down from captaincy after the culmination of IPL 2021 [Image-IPLT20]

Former Indian cricketer Saba Karim believes Virat Kohli's decision to quit RCB leadership duties after the 2nd leg of IPL 2021 may have been motivated by the realization that he may not be destined to win the title as captain.

A few days after giving up India's T20I captaincy, Kohli took everyone by surprise on Sunday night when he announced he would not lead the Royal Challengers from next season.

Speaking on YouTube channel Khelneeti, Karim reckoned that Virat may have come to terms with the fact that if he leaves the captaincy and spearheads the batting unit, then it may lead to the Bengaluru franchise winning the elusive title.

Karim said:

"Every sportsman tries desperately hard to win one title in their career and most of them don't end up succeeding. Take Sachin Tendulkar for example. He had to play so many World Cups to win the title. Sometimes when you try to chase something too much, it doesn't happen. That is a big life lesson and Virat might have understood this. He might have come to terms that if he leaves Captaincy and contributes with the bat, then maybe RCB can win the trophy."

Virat Kohli to step down from RCB captaincy after #IPL2021

“This will be my last IPL as captain of RCB. I’ll continue to be an RCB player till I play my last IPL game. I thank all the RCB fans for believing in me and supporting me.”: Virat Kohli

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Virat has captained RCB in 132 games thus far, winning 62 and losing 66 while 4 ended in a draw. In an emotional message to fans, the Indian skipper cited workload management as the major reason behind his decision. He, however, assured his fans that he’ll continue to play for RCB until the final day of his career.

"He understood his batting is getting affected by captaincy" - Saba Karim on Virat Kohli

One of the reasons apart from workload management that could have motivated Virat Kohli to make such a call is his lean form with the bat.

The Indian skipper hasn’t scored an international ton across formats since November 2019. While he has scored consistently in ODIs and T20s, it is in Test circket that his form has dipped in the past 18 months.

Karim also reckoned that the Delhi cricketer may have come to the realization that the rigors of captaining India across all three formats plus leading an IPL franchise has started to affect his batting.

The former stumper believes Kohli wants to break the shackles and fly back into the zone where he used to dominate world cricket with his fearless batting.

"Virat Kohli must have talked to his family. He understood that Captaincy in every format and for RCB in the IPL was starting to take a toll on him. He also understood that his batting is getting affected by the captaincy," said Saba Karim.

"May be he wants to break away from the shackles to once again get in that zone where he used to bat as a fearless batsman. He wants to extend his career in international cricket and for that to happen, it was necessary for him to take such a decision," he added.

The next couple of months are set to be the last dance for Virat Kohli as T20 skipper. He will hope to seal his legacy as captain in the format by possibly winning both the IPL and T20 World Cup.

Captain Kohli will step out for his 2️⃣0️⃣0️⃣th #IPL game today. 🤩

And what better way than stepping out in the special blue jersey to pay tribute to our Frontline warriors. 💙

@imVkohli
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