Virat Kohli announced on Thursday that he will give up India’s T20 International captaincy after the T20 World Cup that starts in the United Arab Emirates next month.
“I feel I need to give myself space to be fully ready to lead the Indian team in Test and ODI cricket,” Kohli said on Twitter.
“Understanding workload is a very important thing and considering my immense workload over the last 8-9 years playing all three formats and captaining regularly for last five to six years, I feel I need to give myself space to be fully ready to lead Indian team in Test and ODI cricket,” added the 32-year-old.
Here’s Kohli’s post announcing his decision:
Time out: Kohli’s decision to step down as T20 captain makes absolute sense
Kohli would be looking to get his hands on the World Cup trophy next month, his last assignment as India’s T20I skipper. But irrespective of how it pans out in the UAE, he can take pride in an envious leadership record in the format.
Kohli took over India’s limited-overs captaincy in 2017, succeeding Mahendra Singh Dhoni. India’s winning percentage under Kohli is better than it was under Dhoni, despite the fact that the former skipper led the country to the inaugural World T20 title in 2007.
India have won 27 out of 45 matches under Kohli with two tied games and as many abandoned, making it a healthy winning percentage of 65.11.
Perfect timing: Reactions to Kohli’s decision to step down as T20 captain after the WC
India are yet to win an ICC trophy under Kohli but the team’s series wins under him in South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, England and West Indies will remain the highlights of his leadership tenure that started in 2017:
- In 2018, India managed to beat a formidable England team in its own backyard with the series result being 2-1.
- Perhaps the biggest overseas triumph came in New Zealand in 2019-20 season with Kohli’s team trouncing the Black Caps 5-0 before going on to lose the subsequent ODI and Test series.
- In 2020, India bounced back after losing the ODI series in Australia to win the T20 rubber 2-1.
- In 2021, India beat England at home 3-2 and Kohli was named the player of the series.
- Kohli remains the leading-run scorer in T20Is with 3,159 runs at an impressive average of 52.65 and a highest score of 94 not-out.
Here’s a look at Kohli’s captaincy numbers for India in the shortest format:
Most matches as T20I captain:
| Player | Span | Mat | Won | Lost | Tied | NR | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MS Dhoni (INDIA) | 2007-2016 | 72 | 41 | 28 | 1 | 2 | 59.28 |
| EJG Morgan (ENG) | 2012-2021 | 64 | 37 | 24 | 2 | 1 | 60.31 |
| WTS Porterfield (IRE) | 2008-2017 | 56 | 26 | 26 | 0 | 4 | 50.00 |
| Asghar Stanikzai (AFG) | 2015-2021 | 52 | 42 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 81.73 |
| AJ Finch (AUS) | 2014-2021 | 49 | 23 | 24 | 0 | 2 | 48.93 |
| KS Williamson (NZ) | 2012-2021 | 49 | 23 | 24 | 1 | 1 | 48.95 |
| DJG Sammy (WI) | 2011-2016 | 47 | 27 | 17 | 1 | 2 | 61.11 |
| V Kohli (INDIA) | 2017-2021 | 45 | 27 | 14 | 2 | 2 | 65.11 |
Most runs as captain in T20Is:
| Player | Inns | NO | Runs | HS | Ave | SR | 100 | 50 | 0 | 4s | 6s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AJ Finch (AUS) | 49 | 5 | 1589 | 172 | 36.11 | 146.72 | 1 | 10 | 5 | 162 | 64 |
| V Kohli (INDIA) | 43 | 12 | 1502 | 94* | 48.45 | 143.18 | 0 | 12 | 3 | 109 | 58 |
| KS Williamson (NZ) | 49 | 5 | 1383 | 95 | 31.43 | 125.49 | 0 | 11 | 3 | 134 | 36 |
| EJG Morgan (ENG) | 59 | 10 | 1371 | 91 | 27.97 | 144.46 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 86 | 82 |
| F du Plessis (SA/World) | 40 | 6 | 1273 | 119 | 37.44 | 134.28 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 119 | 43 |
| MS Dhoni (INDIA) | 62 | 32 | 1112 | 48* | 37.06 | 122.60 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 75 | 34 |
| Asghar Afghan (AFG) | 48 | 5 | 1020 | 62 | 23.72 | 118.19 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 67 | 53 |
| WTS Porterfield (IRE) | 54 | 6 | 1002 | 72 | 20.87 | 110.96 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 114 | 20 |
| Babar Azam (PAK) | 23 | 2 | 914 | 122 | 43.52 | 136.82 | 1 | 10 | 2 | 104 | 15 |
Virat has been a true asset for Indian cricket: Ganguly backs Kohli’s T20I captaincy decision
Comparison of performance playing as captain and non-captain in T20Is (minimum 10 games as each):
| Not captain | Not captain | Not captain | As captain | As captain | As captain | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Country | Mat | Inngs | Bat avg | Bowl avg | Inngs | Bat avg | Bowl avg |
| Ahmed Raza* | United Arab Emirates | 41 | 9 | 16.00 | 44.62 | 7 | 8.50 | 18.38 |
| Aizaz Khan* | Hong Kong | 39 | 20 | 14.31 | 18.93 | 14 | 13.69 | 22.39 |
| Asghar Afghan* | Afghanistan | 72 | 18 | 17.83 | 48 | 23.72 | 4.00 | |
| Babar Azam* | Pakistan | 61 | 33 | 49.62 | 23 | 43.52 | ||
| Balbirnie, A* | Ireland | 51 | 33 | 25.48 | 14 | 20.86 | ||
| Botha, J | South Africa | 40 | 15 | 18.00 | 20.50 | 5 | 19.50 | 27.67 |
| Brathwaite, C R* | West Indies | 41 | 8 | 11.50 | 39.71 | 19 | 16.07 | 30.63 |
| Broad, S C J* | England | 56 | 11 | 6.00 | 21.57 | 15 | 8.20 | 24.53 |
| Chandimal, D* | Sri Lanka | 59 | 31 | 23.23 | 21 | 16.75 | ||
| Chigumbura, E* | Zimbabwe | 57 | 38 | 21.63 | 24.31 | 18 | 14.35 | |
| Clarke, M J | Australia | 34 | 12 | 11.90 | 30.60 | 16 | 28.38 | 72.00 |
| Coetzer, K J* | Scotland | 59 | 27 | 25.96 | 11.20 | 30 | 24.63 | |
| de Kock, Q* | South Africa | 57 | 46 | 33.55 | 11 | 41.60 | ||
| de Villiers, A B | South Africa | 78 | 58 | 24.14 | 17 | 33.21 | ||
| Dhoni, M S | India | 98 | 23 | 38.85 | 62 | 37.07 | ||
| du Plessis, F | South Africa | 50 | 10 | 28.33 | 40 | 37.44 | ||
| Duminy, J-P* | South Africa | 81 | 64 | 38.79 | 28.76 | 11 | 38.00 | 27.50 |
| Finch, A J* | Australia | 76 | 27 | 40.18 | 49 | 36.11 | ||
| Gayle, C H | West Indies | 74 | 53 | 29.02 | 24.67 | 17 | 30.63 | 21.00 |
| Iqbal Hussain* | Qatar | 22 | 5 | 4.50 | 15.82 | 3 | 6.33 | 16.00 |
| Jayawardene, D P M D | Sri Lanka | 55 | 36 | 34.00 | 19 | 27.44 | ||
| Kohli, V* | India | 90 | 41 | 57.14 | 49.50 | 43 | 48.45 |
(With inputs from PTI)
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!