The crown of captaincy of the Indian cricket team comes with its thorns, and it didn’t spare Virat Kohli either.
Opening up about the time when he gave up Test captaincy in 2022, Kohli, speaking during the third edition of the RCB Innovation Lab’s Indian Sports Summit, recollected how the job affected him and his game.
“I ended up being in a place where I became the focal point of our batting unit and leadership. I didn’t realise how much load both those things will present in my daily life because I was so driven and motivated to make sure that Indian cricket stays on top.
“And that’s precisely why by the time I left captaincy, I was completely spent. I was completely consumed by it. It was gruesome. It was difficult to manage expectations,” Kohli said.
The issue became worse when he went past his prime as a cricketer, the 37-year-old said.
“The key there during my prime was to make sure the team was secure. You know, that insecurity doesn’t enter the change room. For that, I have to give massive credit to the management — Ravi Shastri and the team.
“But the form doesn’t quite stay for long, then, yeah, both those responsibilities start weighing on you. So, it was tough,” he said.
Kohli admitted that he went through a distressing phase after stepping down as the captain. He expressed his gratitude to the then-head coach Rahul Dravid and batting consultant Vikram Rathour for helping him climb out of the pit.
“Only when I left captaincy, I opened up and I shared a lot more with people like
Rahulbhai and Vikram Rathour. I had a great run in Test cricket in 2023, and whenever I meet them, I always thank them from the bottom of my heart.
“They really took care of me in a way that made me feel like I wanted to play for
them. I want to perform. I want to go out there and grind it out. They were so caring and nurturing. They made me realise what I have done so far,” Kohli said.
The year Kohli gave up captaincy, in 2022, he scored a mere 265 runs from six Tests at an average of 26.50 with just one fifty. But with Dravid’s help and backing, he turned it around the next year, tallying 671 runs, including two hundreds, from eight Tests at an average of 56.
“Rahulbhai has done that way better than a lot of people in Test cricket. Vikram has been around for so many years. So, they understood what I was feeling and they could relate to it. They really took care of me mentally.
“So that really put me in a space where I could enjoy my cricket again. But yeah, when I was in the thick of things, I never really felt like I wanted someone to ask me. I was pretty okay with managing everything,” Kohli said.