Explaining his decision to step down as captain of Royal Challengers Bangalore at the end of the 2021 Indian Premier League (IPL) season, hit star Virat Kohli said it was an easy and uncomplicated appointment for him as he wanted some space and time to manage his workload.
Kohli said it was very difficult for outside people to understand the cricketers’ decisions and dismiss speculation about his decision. Kohli decided to give up the RCB captain midway during Stage 2 of IPL 2021 in UAE.
The RCB star also quit as India’s T20I captain last year before being sacked as ODI captain. Kohli also resigned as India’s Test captain in an unforeseen call earlier this year after the Asian giants suffered a 2-1 defeat in a 3-Test series in South Africa.
“I’m not one to hold onto things any more than I should. Even knowing I can do a lot more, I won’t do it if I don’t enjoy the process,” Kohli said on The RCB Podcast.
“Because it’s very difficult for people to understand your choices unless they’re in your situation. From the outside, people have their own expectations of ‘Oh! How did this happen? We’re so shocked,'” he added.
“There is nothing to be shocked about. I tell people I wanted some freedom and I wanted to manage my workload and the story ends here.”
I KEEP MY LIFE VERY SIMPLE AND BASIC: KOHLI
Kohli blasted any conversations people were having about his decision, clearing the air by saying, “There wasn’t really anything there. I keep my life very simple and basic, if I wanted to make a decision, I made a decision and announced it.
“I didn’t want to think about it and think about it for another year. That would have done nothing to me, nothing to the environment to which I belong. Quality of life is something very important to me. And the quality of cricket is something very important to me.
“Over a period of time you want to do what you do every day and you want to do as much as possible, but at the end of the day you have to recognize that quality is much more important than quantity,” Kohli points out.
RCB has yet to appoint their new captain for the 2022 IPL season. While all-rounder Glenn Maxwell is a top candidate for the role, her new recruit Faf du Plessis, who has past experience leading South Africa, is also being traded for the top job.
Kohli ended his tenure as RCB captain after leading the side in 132 games over a nearly 10-year period. However, the star batter failed to lead the team to an IPL trophy.
Kohli was signed by RCB ahead of the IPL 2022 mega auction for Rs 15 crore, although the star-batter has stressed when he wants to play for the Bengaluru-based franchise until he takes part in the big-money T20 tournament.
