Virat Kohli, India’s most successful captain in the longest format, surprised his fans on Saturday by quitting Test captaincy following India’s series defeat to South Africa. Kohli led India in 68 Test matches – winning 40, losing 17 and drawing 11 matches – with a spectacular win percentage of 58.82.
Kohli was appointed as the full-time Test skipper after MS Dhoni announced his retirement in the mid of 2014 Australian tour. Under him, Team India scripted quite a few memorable victories, especially in overseas tours. No wonder his sudden exit from the leadership role came as a shocker to the whole cricket fraternity.
Post the development, many wishes poured in for Kohli, who is overall the fourth most successful Test skipper after Graeme Smith (53 wins), Ricky Ponting (48 wins), and Steve Waugh (41 wins). One such special message came from his close friend and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) teammate AB de Villiers.
The former South African captain took to Twitter to share an appreciation message for Kohli. De Villiers, who spent more than a decade in the Bangalore-based IPL franchise and formed a lethal partnership with Kohli, wrote, “@imVkohli Well done, Virat! U most definitely raised the bar.”
Well done, Virat! U most definitely raised the bar👏💪
— AB de Villiers (@ABdeVilliers17) January 16, 2022
Notably, in his statement, while announcing retirement, Kohli had thanked former India head coach Ravi Shastri and skipper Dhoni for their constant support.
“To Ravi Bhai and the support group who were the engine behind this vehicle that moved us upwards in Test Cricket consistently, you all have played a massive role in bringing this vision to life. Lastly, a big thank you to MS Dhoni, who believed in me as a Captain and found me to be an able individual who could take Indian Cricket forward,” Kohli had said in the statement released on his social media accounts.
