Virat Kohli left Test captaincy in 2022. Photo: BCCI
On this day (January 15) in 2022, Virat Kohli stepped down as India's Test captain. He made the shocking announcement after the series defeat against South Africa. Virat-led India kicked off the series with a win but lost the second game under KL Rahul's captaincy. Virat returned to lead the team in the third Test.
A day after losing the third Test match, Virat decided to leave the Test captaincy. Later in 2022, Virat revealed that only one cricketer messaged him after he stepped down as the Test captain.
Speaking to the press during the 2022 Asia Cup, Virat said that MS Dhoni was the only player who messaged him. "When I left Test captaincy I got message only from MS Dhoni and nobody else. Lot of people have my number but only he had called. There are some connections with are genuine and it has some security. If you want to give me suggestions, give me one-on-one," he said.
Virat and Dhoni share a strong bond. Dhoni saw a future star in Virat and backed him to the hilt. Virat was ready to take over captaincy when Dhoni stepped down. Virat replaced Dhoni to become India's all-format captain in 2017.
Virat Kohli's captaincy career
Virat Kohli finished his Test captaincy career as India's most successful Test captain. He captained India to 40 wins from 68 matches. Virat-led India created history when they became the first Asian team to win a Test series in Australia.
India only lost 2 home Tests under Virat's captaincy. India improved their performance in England and returned home with a 2-1 lead from four Tests in 2021. The fifth Test of the series was played a year later. Jasprit Bumrah captained the visitors in that Test match.
Virat captained India in white-ball cricket from 2017 to 2021. The 36-year-old relinquished the T20I captaincy while he was sacked as the ODI captain. Rohit Sharma replaced Virat to become India's all-format captain.
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