Some have been shocked by Virat Kohli’s decision to step down as captain of Royal Challengers Bangalore. However, some other analysts believe that after Virat Kohli stepped down as India’s T20I captain, it was just a matter of time until he stepped down as captain of his franchise. Former West Indies skipper Brian Lara has praised Kohli for his decision.
Kohli justified his choice by saying that he wants to concentrate on his batting and assisting RCB to win a title. Kohli stated during his announcement to step down as captain of the T20I team that he wanted to focus more on leading India in Tests and ODIs. Lara applauded Kohli’s move and the approach in which he did it.
Proud of Kohli who is at the height of his career and makes such decision: Brian Lara
“I mean, it’s pretty straightforward. He has said it as clearly as possible. He wants to understand his workload and keep committing to the responsibility he has. Very well put together (his statement),” Brian Lara told.
Lara went on to say that captaining and playing in all 3 formats is challenging since there are now 3 when there were just 2 during his time. The former great hitter stated that he grasped why Kohli would make such a decision.
“I totally understand. It’s 3 formats of the game. When you go back, it was just Test cricket and the 50-over format. Now he is playing every format of the time. There has come a time when he feels ‘listen, I need to take a step back and maybe focus on Test cricket and the 50-overs format of the game and allow somebody else to take the responsibility (in T20s)’. To me, it’s pretty clear,” Lara said.
Kohli’s recent batting statistics haven’t been very impressive. His hundreds have reduced, and doubts have been voiced about the captaincy’s impact on him. The Delhi-born batsman has stated that he intends to play with RCB till he retires. Lara also expressed his appreciation that someone of Kohli’s caliber could make such a decision. “Proud of someone who is at the height of his career and makes a decision such as this,” Lara added.
