BCCI treasurer Arun Dhumal on Saturday (January 15) hailed Virat Kohli as the most successful Indian captain and added that cricket in the country would continue to flourish under his mentorship and batting skills.

Dhumal's comments came after Kohli decided to quit India’s Test captaincy, a day after the Test series loss to South Africa.

"Virat beyond doubt is the most successful Indian cricket team captain. We respect his decision and we wish him all the best for his future endeavours as a batter. I am sure under his leadership, mentorship and with his batting skills, Indian cricket would keep doing well," Dhumal told ANI.

The board treasurer further said that the series defeat against South Africa didn’t have any role in Kohli’s decision to leave Test captaincy.

"I do not think series loss against South Africa would have weighed that much in his decision. This would have been the first series win in South Africa. There is no Indian Test captain that has won a series in South Africa, so that could not be the case. I am sure he would have thought about his decision, he has been leading the side for seven years. He would have thought that this is the time to give leadership to someone else in the team. He will continue leading with his bat," he remarked.

When asked who can be the next Test captain of the Indian team, Dhumal said: "The decision to appoint a captain is taken by the selectors, not the office bearers. They would discuss among themselves on who will be the next Test captain."

Virat Kohli had taken charge of the Indian Test team in 2014 and the national side achieved tremendous success under him. He led the country in 68 Tests, winning 40 matches and losing 17.

The highlight of Kohli’s tenure was the Test series victory in Australia in 2018-19 and making it into the inaugural World Test Championship (WTC) final. He also led India to two Test series wins in West Indies and Sri Lanka. Under his captaincy, Team India were leading 2-1 in England last year before the series got postponed due to COVID cases in the visiting camp.

(With ANI inputs)