Virat Kohli tends to quit when his captaincy is under threat: Sanjay Manjrekar

Cape Town, January 15: India cricketer Virat Kohli on Saturday (January 15) stunned all with his announcement on social media about quitting Test captaincy, a day after Team India suffered a shocking series defeat against a second-string South Africa.

Kohli, however, signed off as India's most successful Test captain after taking over the reins back in 2014 when MS Dhoni stepped down in the middle of the series against Australia.

Kohli took Indian cricket to new heights in his tenure which saw the team become a force to reckon with in all conditions. Under his tenure, Team India defeated Australia twice in the latter's backyard, went on playing in the ICC World Test Championships Final - which they lost to New Zealand - and took an unassailable 2-1 lead against England in the five-match series, with the last one yet to be played.

Kohli made the announcement in the backdrop of his tense relations with the BCCI which removed him as ODI captain after the star batter himself decided to leave T20 captaincy in September 2020. Kohli faced criticism for his decision to quit T20 captaincy before the start of ICC T20 World Cup 2021, which many believed was one of the reasons behind Team India's poor show in the multi-nation event.

The Delhi cricketer's decision shocked everyone for there's no clarity over how is going to succeed him and the team, under new head coach Rahul Dravid, is going through a transition phase.

Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar, however, criticised Kohli's decision to step down as Test skipper and went on claiming that the 33-year-old decided to quit when his captaincy came under a threat. Kohli - who led Team India to several historic wins - has been under pressure after the series defeat against South Africa with his 'over aggressive' captaincy also getting criticised.

"I think, in some way, he wants to make himself unsackable as captain. When he gets that vibe that his captaincy is under threat, he tends to quit," Manjrekar said on ESPNCricinfo.

The cricketer-turned-commentator - while dissecting the reason behind Kohli's sudden move - added further, "The landscape is changing, the scenario around Virat Kohli that allowed him to be himself and flourish. Ravi Shastri coming in. He was uncomfortable when Anil Kumble was the coach and once Shastri and the support staff came in, he felt comfortable. The new coach (Rahul Dravid) is no Ravi Shastri. He would have got some inkling of the kind of support he was going to get.

"The regime change in the BCCI also has something to do with all these important announcements that Virat has made. Clearly, a guy who finds himself outside his comfort zone. Individually, his batting is not at its best. All that has just added up. He is not in a great space at the moment. These are all emotional decisions that one can understand."

"Everything has to come to a halt at some stage and for me as Test captain of India, it's now," Kohli wrote in a statement which he posted on Twitter, taking everyone by surprise.

"There have been many ups and also some downs along the journey but there has never been a lack of effort or lack of belief," he added further.

BCCI secretary Jay Shah and treasurer Arun Dhumal acknowledged Kohli's massive contribution to India's stellar run in the five-day format.