India skipper Virat Kohli on Monday (November 8) said that he will retire from cricket the day his aggression and intensity decreases on the field.
Kohli led Team India for the last time in T20Is as India defeated Namibia by 9-wicket to end their T20 World Cup campaign with a victory.
Former India batsman Rahul Dravid has been appointed head coach of Team India and he will succeed Ravi Shastri after the T20 World Cup. Kohli thanked Shastri and the support staff for helping Team India by creating a wonderful environment with the team.
"A big thank you to all those guys (Ravi Shastri and his support staff). They have done a great job over the years, creating such a wonderful environment for the players. People loved to get back to the atmosphere. They have done a really great job," said Kohli after the win.
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"That (his aggression) is never going to change. The day it does, I'll stop playing cricket. Even before I became captain, I have always loved to contribute in some way or the other. Surya didn't get much game time in this World Cup, so I thought it will be a nice memory to take back. That was the idea (behind not batting himself)," he added.
Referring to his decision to step down from the T20I captaincy, Kohli said that this is the perfect time to manage his workload.
"Relief firstly (on leaving T20I captaincy). It's been a honor but things need to be kept at the right perspective. I felt this was the right time to manage my workload. It's been six or seven years of heavy workload and there is a lot of pressure. The guys have been fantastic, I know we haven't got the results here but we have played some really good cricket," said Kohli.
"The guys have really made my work easier. The way we played the last three games, it's a game of margins - T20 cricket these days. Two overs of attacking cricket at the top is what we were missing in the first two games. As I said, we weren't brave enough in those games and in the group we were in, it was tough," he added.
