Virat Kohli will help the new leader just like how MS Dhoni did: Rajkumar Sharma

Virat Kohli announced on Thursday (16 September) his decision to step down from the post of T20I captaincy after the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2021. Kohli’s decision was lauded by all and a few of the experts felt it will allow him time to bat with a bit of freedom in the shortest format of the game. Rajkumar Sharma, Kohli’s childhood coach, has shared his opinion on his former student’s wish to relinquish captaincy from the shortest format.

Kohli’s coach said that he will be even more focused to win the T20 World Cup and leave the captaincy on a brighter note. Rajkumar further opined that the India skipper will also help support the new leader just like his predecessor MS Dhoni did when he stepped down from the shorter formats in 2017.

“New captain will bring new ideas and new strategies, so it will interesting to see who is named as the skipper. Just like what Dhoni did, Virat too will like to play the same role and help the new captain. He will be more determined and focused to win the T20 World Cup as he will want to leave India’s T20I captaincy on a high,” Rajkumar Sharma said as quoted by Cricketnext.

Virat Kohli discussed with me his decision to step down from the T20 format: Rajkumar Sharma

Rajkumar also stated that how Kohli discussed with him his decision to step aside in the shortest format and felt that captaining the team in all three formats in a cricket-mad nation like India is tough and challenging.

“It is a thoughtful decision, he had discussed with me also about this. Captaining in three formats does put a player under pressure and hence he decided to step down from T20I captaincy. We were discussing about it as it is a big issue, I was sure about it. Virat loves the Test format and he will want to lead India in the Test format for a longer period and ODI too hence he decided to step down from T20I captaincy to ease off the pressure,” he said.

India will begin their T20 World Cup campaign on October 24 by facing off against Pakistan.