Former Indian skipper Kapil Dev, who led Team India who led the Indian cricket team to its first-ever World Cup triumph in 1983, has weighed in with his opinion on the Virat Kohli saga. Kohli stepped down as the skipper of India's test team on Saturday, after the Men in Blue were defeated by South Africa in the three-match Test series.
Kapil Dev feels that Kohli did the right thing by stepping aside, as he didn't appear to be "enjoying" captaincy anymore. The veteran also stated that it must have been a tough decision to make for the Delhi-born batsman.
Speaking to Mid-Day, Kapil Dev said that Kohli was indeed looking "tense" in the aftermath of the furore that erupted following his decision to relinquish T20I captaincy last year.
"I welcome Virat’s decision to quit the Test captaincy. He was going through a rough time ever since he gave up the T20 captaincy. He has looked tense in recent times, appeared to be under a lot of pressure. So giving up the captaincy was an option in order to play freely. He opted for that," said Kapil.
The former World Cup winner also added, "He is a mature man. I am sure he must have thought hard before taking this important decision. Maybe, he wasn’t enjoying the captaincy. We have to support him and wish him luck."
Citing an example from his own playing days, Kapil Dev highlighted that Virat Kohli will have to keep his "ego" aside and give his best under India's next Test captain, which will be for the greater good of Indian cricket.
"Even Sunil Gavaskar played under me. I played under K Srikkanth and Azharuddin. I had no ego. Virat will have to give up his ego and play under a young cricketer. This will help him and Indian cricket. Virat should guide the new captain, new players. We cannot lose Virat, the batsman…no way," concluded Kapil.
