Karachi: Pakistan cricketers heaped praises on Virat Kohli for his "7 years of fearless leadership" after he stepped down as India Test captain.
The 33-year-old Kohli left the cricketing world shocked after his sudden resignation on Saturday.
Pakistan cricketer Mohammad Amir tweeted, "@imVkohli brother for me u are a true leader of upcoming generation in cricket because u are inspiration for young Cricketers. keep rocking on and of the field."
"That flare of passion with which you led your side was visible in your captaincy. It’s been 7 years of fearless leadership, quality spirit of cricket and a great ambassadorship of the game. Best wishes for the future bro@imVkohli, keep rocking," wrote Ahmad Shehzad.
"A remarkable journey, career and perseverance which brought us great cricket and entertainment. A brilliant inspiring player of the sport takes a bow. Well done @imVkohli in all your efforts and leading a team with such poise and dignity. Go well!" tweeted Azhar Mahmood.
Kohli took the reins as India Test captain for the first time against Australia in December 2014 as MS Dhoni was not part of the team due to an injury. Kohli scored 115 in India's first innings, becoming the fourth Indian to score a century on Test captaincy debut.
His last game as skipper was the third and series-deciding Test against South Africa in Cape Town, which India lost by seven wickets on January 14.
In September 2021, Kohli had announced that he would give up T20 leadership following the T20 World Cup 2021. After the showpiece event, where India were eliminated in the group stage, the BCCI removed Kohli as ODI captain and appointed Rohit Sharma as the new white-ball skipper.
BCCI President Sourav Ganguly had reasoned that Kohli's decision to quit T20 captaincy led the board to remove him as ODI skipper.
Kohli said that he was only told 90 minutes before the official announcement that he had been sacked as India's One-Day captain. The chief selector Chetan Sharma contradicted Kohli's claims which sparked a controversy. (UNI)