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Imagine having to step down from captaincy despite being the most successful the country has ever seen. A win percentage of 58.82% might look very impressive on paper but that wasn’t the case for former Test captain Virat Kohli or should we just say that he wasn’t lucky enough to get the backing. After years of silence and mystery, Kohli has finally opened up on why he quit captaining his nation in the format he admired the most.
His retirement from the longest format, in 2024, is a different story altogether but all these years his fans and those close to the cricketing world have always wondered why he was removed from Test captaincy. To put it into perspective, it is very important to know why Virat Kohli’s removal from the leadership role was such a big thing.
He took over the reigns from the legendary MS Dhoni, who stepped down after India’s horror show in the Border-Gavaskar trophy in Australia back in 2015. On his captaincy debut, Virat Kohli struck two centuries against a fearsome Aussie side but India had ultimately lost the match as well as the series.
Just one year later, Virat Kohli led the Indian side to a historic Test series win in Sri Lanka, which was the nation’s first since 1993 but that was just the beginning. Along with head coach Ravi Shastri, Kohli oversaw best phase of Indian Test cricket, which included a first ever series win on Australian soil as well as 5 consecutive years or retaining the ICC mace.
Kohli might have remained on the losing side of the first-ever ICC World Test Championship final against New Zealand but nothing can takeaway the fact that it was this very man who made people fall in love with Test cricket. Yet, it is an understatement because Virat Kohli has done so much for the format that people cannot even imagine.
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That’s why Virat Kohli’s revelation about quitting captaincy is such a massive news.
He opened up about the exhausting double burden he carried for nearly a decade, not only serving as the main man of India’s batting lineup but also the team’s fierce leader. Due to his obsession to keep Indian cricket at the pinnacle of the sport, Kohli admitted that he completely ignored his own well-being.
By the time he stepped down from the captaincy, the relentless grind had left him entirely drained, physically and emotionally.
“I ended up being in a place where I became the focal point of our batting unit and the focal point of leadership. I didn’t realise how much load both those things will present in my daily life, to be honest. But because I was so driven to just make sure that Indian cricket stays on top, I didn’t really pay attention to it.” – Virat Kohli said in the RCB Innovation Lab meet in Bengaluru on Tuesday.
And that’s precisely why by the time I left captaincy, I was completely spent. There was nothing left in the tank. I was completely consumed by it. It was gruesome.” – Kohli added.
Perhaps the most heartbreaking part was his admission that throughout those nine grueling years, no one ever asked him about his own well being. This revelation offered a glimpse into the silent toll of stardom.
“But towards the end of my captaincy tenure, I did look back and realise that no one had really asked me that question for almost nine years, ‘How are you doing?’” To do that, you constantly have to be in a space where you’re not focused on yourself. You don’t even think about whether someone is going to ask you, ‘Are you okay?’ That thought doesn’t even cross your mind.” – Virat Kohli concluded.
But even after doing so much, Kohli wasn’t even given the chance to complete 10,000 runs in the format. He ultimately retired in early 2025 after India suffered a 3-1 loss in the 5-match Border-Gavaskar Test series on Australian soil, the very place where it all began for him in the longest format.
The 37-year-old, currently on Indian Premier League 2026 duty with the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, finished his Test career at 9230 runs from 123 matches with an average of 46.85 and a best of 254 not-out.
