BCCI President Sourav Ganguly on Sunday (January 16) paid tribute to Virat Kohli's leadership as he decided to quit Test captaincy, a day after, his dream of winning a maiden Test series in South Africa remained unfulfilled with the hosts winning a well-contested series 2-1.

Kohli stunned the fans, ex-cricketers and experts with his decision on Saturday evening, which was completely unexpected as he is one of the most successful Test captains of all-time with 40 wins from just 68 matches, with 16 of them coming overseas and has an unbeaten series record at home in his 7-year tenure.

READ ALSO: BCCI, cricket fraternity react after Virat Kohli steps down as India’s Test captain

The right-hander in a statement, said every thing has to come to an halt at some stage and the time has come for him as Test captain of India. He further thanked the BCCI, coaches, teammates and MS Dhoni for their support in the seven years he was in charge of the Test side.

Kohli quit as T20I captain after the T20 World Cup 2021 in UAE and was unceremoniously removed from ODI captaincy by the selectors ahead of the tour of South Africa.

What followed was a series of clarifications from all sides including BCCI President Sourav Ganguly who said he had requested Kohli not to quit the T20I captaincy, something that the 33-year-old cricketer denied.

Ganguly in the early hours of Sunday, posted a tweet acknowledging the leadership of Kohli and said it was his personal decision which the board respects. He wrote, “Under Virats leadership Indian cricket  has made rapid strides in all formats of the game ..his decision is a personal one and bcci respects it immensely ..he will be an important member to take this team to newer heights in the future.A great player.well done ..”

Kohli remains available for selection in all three formats and is expected to play an important role for the team as a specialist batter with two World Cups lined up in white-ball cricket.