‘Maybe he wanted to unburden himself by letting go of one format’: MSK Prasad ‘surprised’ by Virat Kohli’s decision

Former chief selector MSK Prasad said he was surprised to know about Virat Kohli’s decision to step down as India’s T20I captain after the conclusion T20 World Cup in November. The latter took toTwitter and Instagram on Thursday to make the announcement through a lengthy post. He stated that he had a brief conversation with coach Ravi Shastri and teammate Rohit Sharma before taking this crucial step.

Speaking with Sportstar, Prasad reckoned that excessive workload that comes with leading Team India across all formats and the stress of living in bio-bubble could have been the reason behind Kohli’s massive decision.

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"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.

“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,” he added.

The former selector further stated that the decision of stepping down will de-stress Kohli and help him lead the Indian side in the upcoming 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.

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“This decision will de-stress him and unburden him a bit because he knows that he will be letting go of one of one format after the tournament and that will perhaps free him a bit in the mega event,” Prasad concluded.