"He told us in a meeting" - Jasprit Bumrah reveals how Virat Kohli announced his decision to quit Test captaincy in South Africa   

Jasprit Bumrah has revealed that Virat Kohli broke the news of him stepping down from India's Test captaincy to the team in a meeting after their 2-1 series defeat to South Africa in Cape Town.

The senior pacer's revelation came two days after Kohli relinquished his job of seven years via a social media post. He didn't divulge the reasons behind the call, simply saying that he can't be "dishonest to the team" concerning his efforts.

Bumrah, who has been named India's vice-captain for the impending three-ODI series against South Africa, was asked on Monday how he found out about the decision. He replied:

"Obviously, we are close as a unit so he told us in a meeting that he's stepping down from the Test captaincy. He told us as a team and we respect his decision, value his leadership a lot so we congratulated him as a team for his contribution to our team as a leader. And we wished him all the best."

Bumrah, who made his Test debut under Kohli in 2018, said it was his "immense pleasure" to play under the star batter's leadership. He added that the 33-year-old will "always be a leader in the group". Bumrah said:

"He knows how his body is reacting and what frame of mind he's in. So, yeah, we respect that and it's been an immense pleasure to play under his leadership. I have made by Test debut [under his captaincy] and as I have spoken before, he brings a lot of energy to the side, he'll always be a leader in the group and his contribution has been immense, and will always be immense going forward."

Kohli was appointed captain in 2014 when India were ranked seventh in Test cricket. He stepped down with the team at the top of the charts with incredible wins in Australia, England and South Africa. The ODI rubber, which begins Wednesday, will be the first time in years that Kohli will represent India just as a player.

"Change is only constant so we are happy" - Jasprit Bumrah on India's transition phase

Kohli leaving the leadership role in all three formats has put India into a rocky transition phase of sorts, with his successor in Tests yet to be announced. But Bumrah assured Team India are not flustered by all the changes and everyone is respectful, happily understanding the situation and contributing to the cause.

Bumrah said in this regard:

"See I can't speak for everyone but for me, I can say that it doesn't make a lot of difference. Obviously, we are all here to help in however way we can and that's how all the players are responding to the changes that are happening as well. Everyone is respectful and understands how the processes are going. Change is only constant so we are happy. Everybody is contributing and we are getting a lot of knowledge."

Bumrah signed off by saying:

"So I don't think anybody is facing a problem or is in a weird space with the change that is happening. Everybody understands the change, everyone has played enough cricket to understand that this is the way the game goes and this is how you move forward. So everyone in the team is quite positive and quite eager to contribute and go about the change as it's happening."

The first ODI will kick off at 2:00 PM IST in Paarl. You can catch the live action here.