"He has dropped a bombshell" - Aakash Chopra on Virat Kohli giving up Team India's Test captaincy

Aakash Chopra has highlighted that Virat Kohli's decision to relinquish Team India's Test captaincy has come as a bolt from the blue.

The Indian team, under Kohli's leadership, came up short in the recently concluded Test series against South Africa. A day after the loss, the Indian Test captain revealed through a social media post that he would no longer continue as skipper.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra termed this a shocking development. He said:

"Virat Kohli has left Test cricket captaincy. He had left T20 himself, the ODI one was taken away from him and now after the South Africa series, he has dropped a bombshell that he will no longer lead Test cricket."

While observing that many people expected this development, the former India cricketer pointed out that it took him by surprise. Chopra elaborated:

"When this news came, let that sink in - that was the kind of feeling I got. It took some time to understand what has happened. It came completely out of the blue. A lot of people are saying the writing was on the wall."

Speculation is rife about the reason behind Kohli giving up Team India's Test captaincy. While some feel it could be because of the recent rift between him and the BCCI, others believe it could be to concentrate more on his batting.

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"I didn't feel Virat Kohli will leave the Test captaincy" - Aakash Chopra

Virat Kohli took the Indian Test team to lofty heights

Aakash Chopra expressed his disappointment at the call taken by Kohli. He reasoned:

"I will be very honest, I didn't feel Virat Kohli will leave the Test captaincy and shouldn't have done also from my viewpoint or from Indian cricket's viewpoint if you see from where to where he has taken the Indian team. I am slightly disappointed and definitely shocked."

The reputed commentator concluded by labeling Kohli the best-ever Indian Test skipper. Chopra explained:

"India was at No. 7 when Kohli took the reins of this team, they are at No.1 at the moment and have been so for the last 4-5 years. One of the most successful Test captains of all time, and I am not talking only about Indian captains here because his name is at the top of the list of Indian captains."

Team India won 40 of the 68 Tests they played under Kohli's leadership. MS Dhoni (27), Sourav Ganguly (21) and Mohammad Azharuddin (14) are the only other Indian skippers to have registered 10 or more wins in Test cricket.