“Keep roaring as batsman champ” - Twitterati hails Virat Kohli’s decision to step down as T20 captain after World Cup

Virat Kohli has confirmed that he will step down as Team India's T20I captain following the conclusion of the T20 World Cup 2021. Kohli confirmed the decision through an official statement on his social media handles.

The 32-year-old put down the decision to the workload he has been carrying as a batsman for the past few years and also as a leader across all formats. Kohli mentioned in his statement that he arrived at the decision after consulting coach Ravi Shastri and vice-captain Rohit Sharma.

Kohli’s decision to quit the T20 captaincy comes just a few days after media reports claimed he was set to step away from the leadership role in white-ball cricket and hand over the reins to Rohit Sharma so that he could better focus on his batting.

Kohli fans on Twitter immediately took to the social media platform to hail the Indian captain's decision. Here's how Twitterati reacted to Kohli’s decision to step down from captaincy in the T20 format after the T20 World Cup

Click here to see the result of today T20 World Cup match toss.

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What Virat Kohli said while announcing his decision to step down as T20 captain

Despite media reports of Kohli quitting the white-ball captaincy doing the rounds for a few days, the BCCI had rubbished all such claims. On Thursday, though, Kohli stunned everyone by making an official statement which read:

“I have been fortunate enough to not only represent India but also lead the Indian Cricket Team to my utmost capability. I thank everyone who has supported me in my journey as the Captain of the Indian Cricket Team. I couldn't have done it without them - the boys, the support staff, the selection committee, my coaches and each and every Indian who prayed for us to win.

“Understanding workload is a very important thing, and considering my immense workload over the last 8-9 years playing all three formats and captaining regularly for the last 5-6 years, I feel I need to give myself space to be fully ready to lead the Indian Team in Test and ODI cricket. I have given everything to the Team during my team as T20 Captain, and I will continue to do so for the T20 Team as a batsman moving forward.”

Kohli confirmed that he has spoken to BCCI secretary Jay Shah and president Sourav Ganguly along with all the selectors in this regard.

“Of course arriving at this decision took a lot of time. After a lot of contemplation and discussion with my close people, Ravi bhai and also Rohit, who have been an essential part of the leadership group, I have decided to step down as the T20 captain after this T20 World Cup in Dubai in October."

"I have also spoken to the BCCI secretary Jay Shah and president Sourav Ganguly along with all the selectors at the same time. I will continue to serve Indian cricket and the Indian team to the best of my ability,” Kohli concluded in his statement.

Virat Kohli will be leading India in the T20 World Cup for the first and last time. MS Dhoni was India’s captain during the previous T20 World Cup, played in India in 2016.