Virat Kohli wanted to unburden himself by letting go of one format: MSK Prasad

Virat Kohli took it to his social media handles to announce that he will step down as India’s T20I captain post the T20 World Cup. Lately, there have been rumors about the same and after Kohli made an official statement on it, the cricket experts and on-lookers have been putting forward their views on it. The latest to join the list is former chief selector MSK Prasad.

In the statement that he released, Kohli stated that he had a word with coach Ravi Shastri and teammate Rohit Sharma before taking the call. However, MSK Prasad was surprised by Kohli’s decision and asserted that the bubble life could have been one of the reasons for him to step down as the T20I captain after the T20 World Cup.

“It is a little surprising that the decision was announced before the T20 World Cup. But then, the stress he must be carrying due to the bubble life and moving on from one bubble to another (could have also impacted). It is clearly visible and that has impacted his mindset,” Prasad was quoted as saying by HT.

Probably, the bubble life had an impact: MSK Prasad

Virat Kohli has been a pivotal aspect of team India for over a decade now. Prasad shed light on Kohli’s achievements and further added that probably the bubble life had an impact on his individual performance.

“Virat is someone who has scored 70 centuries (43 in ODIs and 27 in Tests) in a decade has achieved something unbelievable and has set high standards. Probably, the bubble life had an impact on his individual performance, and that would have perhaps made him take such a decision before the T20 World Cup. Maybe, he wanted to unburden himself by letting go of one format,” Prasad added.

Captaining the national side across formats is a demanding task. It comes with its own challenges and pressure. India has had an impressive run in the T20Is under the captaincy of Virat Kohli. Prasad thus feels that this decision will help him to lead the side in the T20 World Cup without much pressure.

“Under Virat’s captaincy, it has only been a high for Indian cricket in T20s. We have achieved success in New Zealand, West Indies, South Africa, Australia, and this T20 World Cup will be the first mega T20I event under his captaincy. This decision will de-stress him and unburden him a bit because he knows that he will be letting go of one format after the tournament and that will perhaps free him a bit in the mega event,” Prasad concluded.