Virat Kohli reveals thoughts on quitting IPL captaincy, says 'I had no belief'

Virat Kohli (Pic Courtesy: @RCBTweets/Twitter)

Royal Challengers Bangalore's (RCB) tale of misery at the Indian Premier League (IPL) is no secret. Forget an IPL trophy, the franchise have been runners-up in one season and finished as the lowest-ranked team in the next edition. Virat Kohli's decision to step down from captaincy added more fuel to the fire.

Ahead of RCB's clash against UP Warriorz in the WPL on Wednesday, Kohli opened up on his decision to quit captaincy after 2021 season, saying he had no 'belief' and his 'tank was absolutely empty' towards the end of his captaincy tenure. The side had a dismal campaign in 2019 when they lost six matches in a row to lurk at the bottom of the points table. Later, former South Africa captain Faf du Plessis took over the reins.

"The time when my captaincy tenure was coming to an end here, I was left with no belief, to be very honest. I was gone, the tank was absolutely empty," Kohli said. "But that was my own perspective, that was me just an individual saying that I have seen so much of this, I can't just manage it, handle it anymore."

RCB reached the playoffs in the 2020 edition for the first time since 2016 and also advanced to the knockouts in the next two editions.

"But the next season, new people came in, they had new ideas, there was an another opportunity. They were excited, may be as an individual I wasn't that excited. But they created the energy and we reached the playoffs three years in a row," he added further. "Now we start every season with the excitement that was before and I feel excited now, the person who was not up to the mark. So it is a colective responsibility, if someone is feeling down as well, the others can pull them up."

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Kohli's decision to quit RCB captaincy came weeks after he stepped down as India's T20 skipper, following the 2021 T20 World Cup. He was later removed as ODI captain and soon after quit as Test captain as well.

Reflecting on the many phases in his career when he felt insecure and tried to save his reputation, Kohli explained, "...I have needed constant reminders, even from youngsters, because they have a fresh perspective. I have been under pressure because I have played for so long, I have been insecure, I have tried my performances, my reputation like 'Oh I am Virat Kohli, I have to perform in every game. I can't afford to get out'. But these youngsters come and tell me, 'why didn't you hit the ball?' and I was like, 'he is right'. I couldn't think about it because I am so caught up with me, me, me and what I should do and how people are looking at me and all that stuff that I forgot how to play the game."

(With PTI inputs)