“I am sure he has a good reason behind it” - Dinesh Karthik on Virat Kohli stepping down as Test captain 

Indian wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik believes Virat Kohli must have had good reason behind quitting the Test captaincy. He hailed the 33-year-old for playing a huge part in making India a strong Test team.

Kohli gave up the Test captaincy following India’s 2-1 series loss in South Africa. He earlier quit T20I leadership as well, after which he was sacked as ODI captain. Kohli ended his stint as India's most successful Test skipper with 40 wins in 68 matches.

Speaking to ANI, Karthik said about Kohli’s decision to resign as Test captain:

"I remember MS Dhoni saying very clearly that India as a cricketing nation is very hard to have split captaincy. It is unfair for me to answer this question because only Virat knows why he took that decision to step down as captain and I am sure he has a good reason behind it.”

Praising the former captain’s leadership and commitment, Karthik added:

“He has led India so well and he has taken the Test team to a very strong place. As a person who has been part of the team and has played under him, I know the amount of effort he puts in every time he goes out to the field.”

The 36-year-old, who has represented India in 26 Tests, 94 ODI and 32 T20Is, stated that he is happy to have been a part of Kohli’s journey as a leader and commented:

"He gives it everything he has. It has been a great joy for me to have been part of that journey, he has been one of the top captains for India in Test cricket, I hope when he turns back, he looks at all the pleasant memories and the good memories and he has a good time thinking about the success he has had as the captain."

India won their maiden Test series in Australia under Kohli’s leadership in 2018-19. However, they failed to lift an ICC trophy under his tenure.

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“Rahul Dravid will encourage players to speak” - Dinesh Karthik

With Kohli’s stint as captain coming to an end in all formats, India are moving into a new era with Rohit Sharma as white-ball captain (new Test captain is yet to be announced) and Rahul Dravid as head coach.

India are set to face West Indies at home in an ODI and T20I series next month. Agreeing that India play a lot of matches, Karthik asserted that Dravid will encourage the players to speak up if they are tired. He said:

"We do have a lot of matches but players are given ample opportunity to rest, Rahul Dravid is the kind of person who will encourage players to speak how they are feeling mentally and physically. He will accommodate players' wishes in terms of giving rest so I think India is in a very safe space right now."

When India take on West Indies in the first ODI of the three-match series on February 6, they will become the first country to play 1000 matches in the format.