New Delhi: Virat Kohli on Saturday took to Twitter to officially announce his decision to step down as Indian cricket team's Test captain after the series defeat against South Africa. The star batter had taken over the job in the year 2004 as two-time World Cup winning skipper MS Dhoni's replacement.
Last year, Virat had stepped down as team India's T20 skipper ahead of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup after which the Board of Control for Cricket in India had removed him as India's ODI captain as the senior team's selectors did not want more than one captain for white-ball format.
Virat Kohli's shocking decision comes just a day after team India's heart-breaking loss against Proteas in the three-match Test series.
"It's been 7 years of hard work, toil and relentless perseverance everyday to take the team in the right direction. I've done the job with absolute honesty and left nothing out there. Everything has to come to a halt at some stage and for me as Test Captain of India, it's now. There have been many ups and also some downs along the journey, but never has there been a lack of effort or lack of belief. I have always believed in giving my 120 percent in everything I do, and if I can't do that, I know it's not the right thing to do," Kohli wrote on Twitter.
"I have absolute clarity in my heart and I cannot be dishonest to my team. I want to thank the BCCI for giving me the opportunity to lead my country for such a long period of time and more importantly to all the teammates who bought into the vision I had for the team from day one and never gave up in any situation. You guys have made this journey so memorable and beautiful."
Virat Kohli has captained the national team in 68 Test matches. Under his captaincy, team India has won 40 matches and lost 17.
Between 2016 and 2018, Virat was at the peak of his form in international cricket as he was almost scoring a ton every 5 innings. However, he has been under the scanner for some time. The ex-India skipper has failed to score an international ton for two straight years now.