‘When a successful captain leaves, it shows all is not well’ – Mushtaq Ahmed on Virat Kohli’s stepping down

Former Pakistan spinner Mushtaq Ahmed feels there is something not right in the Indian dressing room as no successful captain steps down for no reason. Virat Kohli stepped down as India’s T20I skipper after the team’s premature exit from the T20 World Cup 2021.

The team had a forgettable run, losing two encounters on the trot against Pakistan and New Zealand to complicate their qualification chance right from the start. Even as India won their remaining fixtures against Afghanistan, Scotland and Namibia, the other equations needed for their qualification did not materialize.

“When a successful captain says he wants to leave the captaincy, it means all is not well in the dressing room. I see two groups existing in the Indian dressing room right now… the Mumbai and Delhi groups,” Mushtaq said on the Geo News channel.

“I think Kohli will soon retire from playing T20 internationals for his country although he will continue in the Indian Premier League. I think he has had his fill of this format.”

Kohli had announced his decision to step down as the skipper citing his workload and giving himself space to lead in Test and ODI cricket.

“Understanding the workload is a very important thing and considering my immense workload over last 8-9 years playing all 3 formats and captaining regularly, I feel I need to give myself space to be fully ready to lead the Indian Team in test and ODI Cricket. I have everything to the team during my time as T20 Captain and I will continue to do so for the T20 Team as a batsman moving forward,” his statement on social media read.

“Of course, arriving at this decision took a lot of time. After a lot of contemplation and discussions with my close people.”

Meanwhile, Mushtaq further attributed India’s failure at the T20 World Cup to the Indian Premier League that concluded days before the start of the tournament. “I think India flopped in the World Cup because of the IPL. I think their players after remaining for so long in a bio-secure bubble before the World Cup were jaded and tired,” added Mushtaq.