The entire cricket fraternity went into shock after Virat Kohli stepped down from the captaincy post of Team India in Test after suffering a 2-1 series defeat by South Africa. Many cricket experts around the world asked Virat Kohli to reconsider his decision, even the BCCI officials stated that they persuaded the Delhi-based cricketer to rethink upon his decision. However, Virat Kohli remained firm on his stance.
Following that fans on social media started speculating that there might some between the BCCI and Virat Kohli. Fans started outlining the difference in opinion and facts laid down by BCCI President Sourav Ganguly and Virat Kohli. Even Team India's former Head Coach Ravi Shastri expressed his shock and stated that Kohli had two more years left in the captain, however, he stepped down as there are forces who cannot digest his success.
Now, Virat Kohli has opened up on his decision to relinquish his captaincy from Test cricket. In a conversation on 'Fireside Chat with VK', Virat Kohli stated that moving on is also part of leadership. Furthermore, Kohli stated that even when MS Dhoni was in the team, it was not like he was not the leader and that he always needed inputs from him.
"See, I think firstly you need to have a complete understanding of what you set out to achieve and whether you have achieved those targets or not. Everything has a tenure and time period, so you have to be aware of it. As a batter, you might be able to give more to the team, so take pride in that," said Kohli on an episode of 'Fireside Chat with VK'.
"You do not need to be a captain to be the leader. When MS Dhoni was in the team, it was not like he was not the leader, he was still the guy from whom we wanted to have inputs. To win or not win is not in your hands, the striving for excellence and to be better every day, is not something you can do short term. When it comes to a culture, it will last beyond your playing years and your responsibility," he added.
Further talking about his viewpoint, Kohli said: "To add to that, moving on is also a part of leadership, to understand the right time to do that. I think one has to embrace all kinds of roles and opportunities. I have played under MS Dhoni for a while and then I became the captain, my mindset has been the same all this while. I always thought like a captain when I was just a player in the team."
Away from home, Kohli's India won 16 out of 36 matches, with an impressive win percentage of 44.44, the highest for an Indian or Asian captain who has led their team in at least 10 matches.
"I think, it is very important to be aware of what you think about yourself. At the end of the day, if you have more responsibility, you know you can have a different vision so you need to stay true to yourself. If I know my game is not where it should be, then I do not need someone to push me, I am myself aware of it," said Kohli.
"Communication is the most important thing, you cannot someone cut off saying I do not need your point of view, you can respectfully say I am in a good space and if there is help to be taken, then I will reach out to you. That sort of balance has worked out for me," he added.
Talking about the team culture within Team India, Kohli said: "Culture is a very difficult thing to change but I have experienced in any field in India it is important to set the culture from the top and that is how things have had an impact in our society. When I became the captain, my focus was on cultural change."
"I knew we do not lack in skill, I was thinking about maximizing the talent to its potential. I wanted to not confine my vision and if you want to expand it, then you need culture. Culture requires you to work hard every day. It is a constant process, culture is more important than strategy. As a captain, I was more focused on trying to bring in a culture of we are capable of winning from anywhere," he added.
It is pertinent to mention here that Virat Kohli had stepped down from Team India's T20 format, however, he was stripped from the leadership from ODI format by the BCCI as selectors wanted to have only one skipper in the white-ball format. Rohit Sharma was named as Team India's white-ball captain, while KL Rahul was named as his deputy. In the Test format, the BCCI is yet to appoint a captain, however, the names of Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, and KL Rahul are among the top front-runners.