Virat Kohli relinquished his duties as captain of India and Royal Challengers Bengaluru due to pressure. He resigned as T20I captain and RCB in 2021, and then months later, to everyone’s shock, he resigned as Test captain as well. The 36-year-old shared with RCB in a recent interview how overwhelming it was to deal with the expectations on him as a captain and player.
“There was once a point when it became really tough for me because there was just too much happening in my career. I was captain of India for about 7-8 years and led RCB for nine years. There were always expectations every time I batted,” Kohli said on the RCB Bold Diaries podcast.
There was no escape from the limelight. “If it wasn’t about being captain, it was about my batting. I was in the public eye all the time. It just became too much, and that’s why I stepped down. I realized I needed to be happy if I wanted to keep playing.”
In 2022, Kohli took one month off from cricket and he did not take a bat during that pause. Later, he found the passion for the game again. “Now I want to have a space where I can just play cricket without constantly being judged about what’s going to happen next,” he said.
Currently, he is playing the IPL for RCB and topping the chart with 505 runs off 11 innings. Kohli has been with the Royal Challengers since the start of the Indian Premier League, and till now, he has not won the tournament.
