Virat Kohli stepped down as Test captain after the series loss to South Africa.
It’s been almost a week since Virat Kohli announced his resignation from the Test captaincy. His decision came as a shock to all his fans and followers. When he stepped down as the T20I captain and was removed from the ODI captaincy, fans believed Team India will now pick the path of split captaincy, but Kohli didn't leave that option by giving up the leadership position.
Similar to last time, there have been plenty of speculations with rumours of rift between Kohli and BCCI. While we may not know if these rumours are true or not, former selector Kiran More finds this situation upsetting. More says that Kohli is not only one of the greatest players but also the most successful captain of all times and he has been receiving unfair treatment.
Also Read: Akshar Patel gets engaged to girlfriend on his birthday; cricket fraternity sends best wishes
"The way he has left is a bit sad. The way people have treated him, and I am not talking of the BCCI, and criticised him was not fair. He has played a lot of cricket, he has done well for India. The way he played any form of cricket, he had that quality. He always showed the character that he wanted to win," More told News18.
"Let's not forget he is a World Cup winner (2011). He has got 70 international hundreds and is a special player. I am disappointed with the way people were talking about him and the way his captaincy was criticised. For me, he is a legend. Performance-wise, we cannot touch him. I am not worried about him stepping down from T20 or ODI captaincy. That is part of life. The way people were criticising him was not good."
Talking about the road ahead, More said that the Rohit-Rahul partnership is expected to take over in full swing.
As far as Kohli is concerned, More feels the former skipper will try to concentrate more on his batting while being a crucial part of the leadership group.
"This always happens. People have to come together and regroup. That's the job of Rahul Dravid and the selectors. They are matured cricketers. It is not going to be easy and will take time for the Indian team to settle down. Test cricket is not easy, no matter what. You play Test cricket with your heart. He’s got to perform. Kohli’s 79 and 29 in Cape Town were like 150 on difficult pitch," said More.
"It is not easy to leave captaincy. He was the captain in all three formats. He must have decided to focus on his batting and win matches for the country. He has always played freely to score 70 international hundreds. Time comes in every captain’s life to move on. Every captain feels it and perhaps he has felt it now."