In a couple of months, Virat Kohli‘s tenure as captain of the Indian men’s cricket team came to be completed. Kohli had renounced the T20 Internationals (T20Is) role at the end of the 2021 T20 World Cup. He was finally stripped of ODI captaincy as the Board of Control for Cricket(BCCI) in India required one captain in white-ball cricket.
After India’s series in South Africa came to completion earlier this month, Virat Kohli announced that he was resigning as Test captain.
Jonty Rhodes, who is currently part of the Legends League in Oman, said that with the responsibility of captaincy has taken off his shoulders, Kohli may just become most dangerous as a batter.
Talking to NDTV, he said:
“I’d be a little bit nervous of a Kohli who doesn’t have the responsibility of leadership. Not that it cost him anything, and I think he scored incredible runs for India. But he is such a passionate guy that he would want to go out there and score heavily to show that he is still relevant to India in any capacity.”
“It’s always a personal decision” – Jonty Rhodes on Virat Kohli’s resignation from captaincy.
Jonty Rhodes thinks it’s always a personal decision when a player decides to resign from the captaincy. He said:
“With regards to him stepping down, it’s always a personal decision. He’s obviously not retired. Many captains leave the job and just walk away, but Kohli’s still around. He is very passionate.”
He added:
“We know how he plays the game. He is always 100% committed, and his work ethic is just as strong. He obviously thinks he still has a role for India, just not as a captain. You have to respect someone like him for what he has done.”
Rhodes denied to speculate on the reasons behind Virat Kohli’s decision and answered:
“I can’t judge him and guess the reasons for him stepping down as India’s Test captain. But if he is still there, surely that’s a good thing.”
“Someone like Dhoni started the turnaround, showing people where you can be if you are fit and you are strong. Kohli just took that to another level.”