"I was exposed to it 24x7": Virat Kohli opens up on why he quit India and RCB captaincy amid IPL 2025

Indian batting talisman Virat Kohli has said that the constant limelight on him during his time as India and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) captain prompted him to quit both the leadership roles. The right-handed batter admitted that he was being exposed to captaincy on a 24x7 basis and eventually, it became too much for him to handle.

Kohli led India's white-ball team from 2017-2021 and led the red-ball side from 2015-2022. He led RCB from 2013-2021.

“I captained India for 7-8 years and RCB for nine. There were expectations on me as a batter every single game. I never felt the attention was off me. If not captaincy, it was my batting. I was exposed to it 24x7. It got very tough and too much in the end," Kohli said on RCB's "Bold Diaries" podcast (via Sportstar).

The 36-year-old said that he had reached a stage in his career where he wasn't happy with the spotlight on him. He added that he wanted to play the game without being judged all the time.

“I reached a point where I wasn’t happy in the spotlight. If I’ve decided I want to be in this place, I need to be happy. I want to play cricket without being judged every time," Kohli said.

Multiple knockouts and Playoffs, but the trophy goes missing: Virat Kohli's India and RCB captaincy tenure in a nutshell

Virat Kohli took over India's full-time Test captain in January 2015. Under his leadership, the team won the first-ever Test series in Australia in 2018-19. They also won twin Test series in West Indies (2016 and 2019) and in Sri Lanka (2015 and 2017). However, India could not cross the line in the World Test Championship final in 2021, when they lost to New Zealand in the final at Southampton.

In white-ball cricket, Kohli led India to their first-ever ODI series win in South Africa in 2018. He also led them to an ODI series win in Australia in 2019 and a T20I series win Down Under in 2020. However, under Kohli's leadership, India lost the 2017 Champions Trophy final and bowed out in the semifinal stage of the 2019 ODI World Cup.

Kohli led India in only one T20 World Cup in 2021, where they failed to go past the group stage of the competition. As RCB captain, Kohli led the franchise to three Playoff finishes and a runners-up finish in 2016, when they lost to Sunrisers Hyderabad in the final.