Virat Kohli steps down as India Test captain

Virat Kohli has announced that he is stepping down from Test captaincy of the Indian team after the recently-concluded South Africa series, India Today reported.

The 33-year-old took to social media on Saturday, January 15 and said that his 7-year-journey as the Test captain of India has come to a halt.

The unforeseen decision comes a day after India lost a 3-Test series 1-2 to South Africa in South Africa. Virat Kohli led India in 68 Tests between 2014 and 2022 and won 40 out them. The skipper finishes as India’s most successful Test captain with a win percentage of 58.82.

Virat Kohli had been one of India’s longest-serving skippers in the longest format of the game, having successfully led the team in whites for close to 8 years. Kohli took over from MS Dhoni as India’s Test captain in the middle of a high-profile series in Australia in 2014 and never looked back from there.

Kohli led India to a historic Test series victory in Australia in 2018-19 and dominated England in England last year. However, Kohli’s last assignment as Test captain ended in disappointment as India failed to conquer what was being looked at as the final frontier — win a Test series in South Africa.

Kohli’s decision comes months after he quit T20I captaincy. He was sacked as India’s ODI captain before India departed to South Africa earlier this year.