Kohli turned Indian team into a ruthless unit – BCCI

BOARD of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah thanked Virat Kohli for his “tremendous tenure” as captain of the Indian Test team after the latter stepped down from the post yesterday.

Kohli’s decision to leave Test captaincy comes a day after India lost the three-match Test series against South Africa on Friday.

“Congratulations to @imvkohli on a tremendous tenure as #Team India captain. Virat turned the team into a ruthless fit unit that performed admirably both in India and away. The Test wins in Australia & England have been special,” tweeted Jay Shah.

The BCCI also took to their Twitter handle and congratulated Kohli for taking the Indian Test team to unprecedented heights.

“BCCI congratulates #Teamindia captain @imvkohli for his admirable leadership qualities that took the Test team to unprecedented heights. He led India in 68 matches and has been the most successful captain with 40 wins,” tweeted the BCCI.

Last year, Kohli stepped down as the T20I captain and he was then removed as the ODI leader as the selectors wanted one captain for the white-ball format.

Kohli’s biggest win in the longer format came in 2018-19 as India won its first Test series Down Under. Under his captaincy, India also reached the finals of the World Test Championship.

Kohli has not registered a century in international cricket since November 2019. He last scored a ton against Bangladesh in the day-night Test at Eden Gardens.

Former India batter Suresh Raina said he was shocked to see Kohli stepping down as the Test captain.

“Although I also am shocked by @imvkohli sudden decision, I respect his call. I can only applaud him for what he has done for world cricket & India. Easily one of the most aggressive and fittest players India has had. Hope he’d continue to shine for India as a player,” Raina tweeted.

In a statement, Kohli said: “It’s been seven years of hard work, toil and relentless perseverance every day 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.”