Virat Kohli decided to give up the T20I captaincy after the culmination of the T20I World Cup last year in UAE and Oman. He was then replaced as the ODI captain with Rohit Sharma, with BCCI stating that it isn’t ideal for India to have two white-ball captains.

India’s 2-1 series loss to South Africa proved to be the final nail in the coffin as Kohli resigned from the role of Indian Men’s Test cricket team captain. In a conversation with India news, Karim said that Kohli may have a feeling of suffocation that has led him to take this decision.

“It is very difficult to say what is the reason behind this. The picture we are getting to see in the last four-five months, it means the pressure was building on him. He might have been feeling suffocated because of which he might have ended his relationship with the captaincy.

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“Virat Kohli is a person who doesn't take a step back from fighting. I agree India lost the Test series in South Africa, where they were expected to win, but he is always ready for such challenges. It is the first time he has taken such a decision on his own,” he elaborated.

The former Indian player also mentioned that he didn’t expect so many changes to take place in such a short span of time and that Virat must have given thorough thought to his decision as he is someone who fights till the very end.

"I didn't think so many changes will happen so soon. The first setback was when Kohli himself decided that he will not do the T20 captaincy. We had spoken about the timing that time as well that the World Cup was about to happen and the team had been selected, for Kohli to take such a decision was extremely astonishing.

“The selectors then decided that Kohli will not remain the captain in ODI cricket as well. So too many changes have happened too quickly. The first change was initiated by Kohli himself but after that, the selectors have had a role in the change and in the end, again this personal decision from Kohli,” concluded Karim.