In what can be called a shocking announcement, Virat Kohli has stepped down as India’s Test captain. The 33-year-old took to Twitter on Saturday (January 15) and informed about the same. Kohli’s jaw-dropping decision came a day after India’s Test series defeat against South Africa. India, despite having a 1-0 lead, failed to win their maiden Test series in the rainbow nation.

The same earned them a lot of criticism. However, Kohli leaving Test captaincy never seemed on the cards. Kohli, in his statement, thanked the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for giving him the opportunity of leading the nation. He also thanked former coach Ravi Shastri and ex-captain MS Dhoni for supporting him in his journey. Kohli, who stepped down as India’s white-ball captain last year, also said he feels it’s the right time for him to step down as Test captain.

Virat Kohli has by far been the best Indian Test skipper of all time, as the stats show and on Saturday (January 15), he came out with a shocking announcement. The 33-year-old gave up India’s captaincy in the longer format. The decision comes after the 2-1 defeat against South Africa recently and it has to be noted that he has already given up captaincy in T20 internationals after the T20 World cup 2021. Rohit Sharma was named the new captain for India in limited-overs cricket.

Kohli captained India in 68 Tests, winning 40 of them and losing just 17 with a win percentage of 58.82. Having taken over the captaincy from MS Dhoni in 2014, Kohli has been phenomenal in terms of building a strong squad. He also was one of the main reasons behind the development of the fast bowlers in India as he kept backing them in overseas conditions.

“It’s been 7 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. Everything has to come to a halt at some stage and for me as Test Captai.