New Delhi: Virat Kohli on Thursday announced that he will step down as India's T20 captain after the T20 World Cup in the UAE and Oman, which begins next month.
"I've decided to step down as the T20 captain after this T20 World Cup in Dubai in October," Kohli said in a statement on Twitter.
However, Kohli will continue to lead the Indian cricket team in ODIs and Test cricket. He cited excessive workload as the reason behind his decision to quit T20 captaincy.
"Understanding workload is a very important thing and considering my immense workload over the last 8-9 years playing all three formats and captaining regularly for last five to six years, I feel I need to give myself space to be fully ready to lead Indian team in Test and ODI cricket," he said.
"I have given my everything to the Team during my time as T20 captain and I will continue to do so for the T20 captain and will continue to do so for the T20 team as a batsman moving forward," he added.
Kohli also said that he took the decision after consulting head coach Ravi Shastri Rohit, BCCI President Sourav Ganguly and secretary Jay Shah.
"Of course, arriving at this decision took a lot of time. After a lot of contemplation and discussions with my close people, Ravi bhai and also Rohit, who have been an essential part of the leadership group," he said.
"I have also spoken to the secretary Mr Jay Shah and the President of BCCI Mr Sourav Ganguly along with all the selectors about the same. I will continue to serve Indian Cricket and the Indian Team to the best of my ability," he added. (UNI)
