Virat to step down from RCB captaincy after IPL 2021

Virat Kohli has decided to step down from the RCB captaincy after IPL 2021. However, he said he will remain to be a part of the team.

Delhi:Virat Kohli has decided to step down from the RCB captaincy after IPL 2021. However, he said he will remain to be a part of the team.

"This will be my last IPL as captain of RCB. I’ll continue to be an RCB player till I play my last IPL game. I thank all RCB fans for believing in me & supporting me," he said in an official RCB video.

"I have spoken to the squad. It was something that was on my mind as I recently announced stepping down as T20 captain to manage my workload which has been immense. I want to be clear about how I want to move forward. I have made it clear to the management that I can't think of being in any other team apart from RCB," he said.

Kohli was inducted into the RCB squad in 2008, when the league came into existence. He began leading the side in 2013. Though the team has never won the IPL under his captaincy, he continued to remain the captain due to his immense brand value.

"It is just a little halt, not the end of the journey. The journey will continue," he asserted.

One of the most decorated players of the franchise, the star batsman will continue to be a part of the RCB squad.

Kohli has played 199 IPL matches and scored 6,076 runs so far with five hundreds. As a batsman for the franchise, his best IPL season was 2016 when he claimed the Orange Cap with 640 runs averaging 81.

Mike Hesson, RCB's director of cricket operations, thanked Kohli for his contribution as the team's captain.

@RCBTweets as a fully committed leader and team man, your energy and passion is infectious. I know the boys are fully committed to help send you out on a well deserved high skipper," Hesson tweeted.