Former India captain Kapil Dev spoke on Virat Kohli's decision to quit Test captaincy after the Test series loss against South Africa. Kohli's announcement to give up Test captaincy was a surprise for many as he had an impressive record.

Kapil said Kohli looked tense in recent times and he was going through a tough period after giving up the T20I captaincy. He supported his decision and called the ex-India skipper a 'mature man' while wishing him luck for the future.

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“I welcome Virat’s decision to quit the Test captaincy. He was going through a rough time ever since he gave up the T20 captaincy. He has looked tense in recent times, appeared to be under a lot of pressure. So giving up the captaincy was an option in order to play freely. He opted for that,” Kapil told Mid-day.

“He is a mature man. I am sure he must have thought hard before taking this important decision. Maybe, he wasn’t enjoying the captaincy. We have to support him and wish him luck.”

The 1983 World Cup-winning captain added that there's no problem in playing under a junior teammate and he gave his example saying there was no ego. “Even Sunil Gavaskar played under me. I played under K Srikkanth and Mohammed Azharuddin. I had no ego. Virat will have to give up his ego and play under a young cricketer. This will help him and Indian cricket. Virat should guide the new captain, new players. We cannot lose Virat, the batsman…no way,” he concluded.

India remained unbeaten at home under the captaincy of Kohli, winning all the series he led in. They defeated the likes of South Africa (3-0), New Zealand (3-0), England (4-0), and Australia (2-1) from 2015 to 2017 at home. In the 68 Tests he captained, India won 40 of those and lost just 17 matches. 

(With Mid-Day Inputs)