India Cricket Update: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced on Thursday that Virat Kohli, Team India's current full-time captain, will stand down as T20I captain following the end of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021, which will be held in the UAE and Oman from October 17 to November 14. Simultaneously, Kohli's white-ball deputy Rohit Sharma is being touted as a possible successor in the game's shortest format.
While the identity of Team India's next T20I captain is still unknown, Virat Kohli has previously claimed that Rohit Sharma had a fantastic 'cricketing brain' and is really 'captaincy material.' Virat has already stated this in August of 2013. At the time, he was already India's ODI vice-captain.
"He (Rohit) has tremendous cricketing brain. I often take his advice during matches," Virat let out a secret when asked as to who apart from him and Dhoni has the ability to lead the Indian team as quoted in a sports news article.
Virat Kohli resigns as India's T20 captain.
Kohli told BCCI President Sourav Ganguly and BCCI Secretary Jay Shah about his decision on Thursday, according to a source. Kohli's choice was not influenced by any external factors, according to the source. When questioned if MS Dhoni's appointment as Team India's mentor for the forthcoming T20 World Cup in the UAE and Oman had anything to do with it, the source replied that Dhoni's appointment was not a problem because he was only hired for this T20 World Cup.
Virat Kohli's most recent tweet
Meanwhile, Virat Kohli has announced that he has chosen to step down as India's T20I captain. The Delhi batsman thanked everyone for their support on Twitter, including his teammates, support staff, selection committee, coaches, and all fans and well-wishers.
Further explaining his decision to step down as T20I captain, the batting legend stated that he chose due to his 'immense workload' over the previous 8-9 years, during which he has played across formats and led the Indian team from the front for the last 5-6 years. In addition, the batting legend stated that he needs to give himself space to be "completely equipped" to lead the Indian team in Test and live ODI cricket.