Twitter was filled with emotional messages for Indian cricketer Virat Kohli as he stepped down from his role as test captain of team India, on Saturday. Kohli bid adieu to the designation, with a heartfelt note on Twitter, thanking the Board of Cricket Control India (BCCI) and his teammates, for staying by his side, throughout his journey.
The tweet came a day after team India’s defeat against South Africa in the Cape Town test series. Kohli recently found himself amidst controversies as he was dismissed as the team India captain for One Day Internationals (ODI) by the BCCI after he stepped down from T20 captaincy, as the selectors reportedly wanted one captain for the white-ball format.
Kohli was appointed as the test team captain, in 2014, as Mahendra Singh Dhoni stepped down as captain, mid-series against Australia.
“It’s been seven years of hard work, toil and relentless perseverance every day to take the team in the right direction. I have done the job with absolute honesty and left nothing out there,” he wrote in his message.
Kohli led India to the top of world rankings and during his tenure, the team recorded a memorable series win in Australia.
He is the third most successful captain in the history of Test cricket (who have led in at least 20 Tests) in terms of Test wins behind Steve Waugh (41 wins in 57 games) and Ricky Ponting (48 in 77 games). Kohli has 40 wins in 68 Tests in which he led India.
Here is how fans and teammates bid adieu to Kohli as captain of team India: