Former Indian captain Virat Kohli shocked the cricketing world when he stepped down as the captain of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) before the resumption of the second phase of IPL 2021.
Former Indian captain Virat Kohli shocked the cricketing world when he stepped down as the captain of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) before the resumption of the second phase of IPL 2021.
On the eve of the RCB vs Punjab Kings match, he revealed why he quit captaincy and the thoughts behind the resignation.
He said, “It’s a wise thing for anyone to create some space for themselves, just take a deep breath and restructure things and say ‘Hold on, I might not have looked at a lot of things that I need to work on, and here’s a chance for me to restructure, rethink about what I want to do’.
“…And just find things to improve, find little bit at practice something that you look forward to. That is something I’ve experienced in this phase.”
He further said he’s enjoying coming to practice and focusing on his skills much more after the captaincy responsibilities took a back seat.
“Not that you don’t focus on it, but somewhere when you have other responsibilities, that tends to kind of take a back seat, and over a period of time when you do it over and over again, and your mind is only running in one direction, then you can tend to lose that joy to come and practice.
“For me, that’s always been the essence of playing cricket and something that I’ve always wanted for it to be alive within me. And I certainly feel that joy of purely coming here and hitting the ball again.”
Asked if he feels younger and brighter not being the captain, Kohli said, “When you take a decision like this, a lot of people go, ‘One should look at things from a point of responsibility and you have to take responsibility.’
“People don’t understand that if you as a player cannot be the best version of yourself on the field, then that responsibility for me personally as a player means nothing,” he said.
