IPL 2025: I was under some pressure after almost a decade of leading India and Royal Challengers Bangalore and their attention was on batting. That is why my game was also affected. Indian team veteran batsman Virat Kohli said, as a result, I forgot to enjoy cricket and finally decided to leave the captaincy to be happy in life. He was speaking in an interview. Kohli resigned from the post of T20 captain after the 2021 World Cup. After this, he also gave up the captaincy of RCB.
A year later, after resigning from the post of Test captain after a defeat against South Africa, Kohli said that he had reached the point in his career where it was difficult to focus continuously. There was a time when it became very difficult for me because a lot was happening in my career. I was leading India for seven-eight years. I led RCB for nine years. Regardless of any match, I used to have high expectations in terms of batting. I did not even realize that I was struggling to focus. If it was not happening under the captaincy, it was happening in batting.
I always used to think about it. It became very difficult for me and eventually it affected me. Kohli took a month’s break from cricket in 2022 and during this time he did not even touch the bat. He said that there was a time in his life when he was struggling to be happy in public life. That is why I left the captaincy, because I felt that if I want to stay in this game then it is important for me to be happy.
I wanted to play without paying attention to criticism.
I wanted to be in a situation in my life where I could live comfortably and play my cricket without any criticism. Winning the Under-19 World Cup for India is not a guarantee of easy entry into the senior team. With the determination and the then captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and coach Gary Kirsten, he was successful in batting at number three in the team. I was very realistic about my abilities because I saw many other people playing. I did not think my game was around his game anywhere. I just had determination. If I wanted my team to win, I was ready to do anything. Coach Gary and Dhoni helped me a lot.
