Pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah said that Virat Kohli will always remain a leader within the Indian team. Kohli, on Saturday, stepped down as India’s Test captain which shocked the cricketing world. Kohli took to Twitter to announce his decision a day after India’s heartbreak Test series defeat to South Africa.
Kohli ended his captaincy tenure as India’s most successful Test captain with 40 wins out of 68 Test matches. He took over the charge of the team when India were ranked seventh and stepped down with India topping the charts.
Bumrah talks about Kohli’s big decision and said the 33-year-old himself knows how his body is reacting and about his frame of mind.
I am not here to give a judgement about his decision. It’s a personal decision we respect Virat Kohli’s decision. He knows how his body is reacting and what frame of mind he is in. We respect that and it’s been an immense pleasure to play under his leadership. I made my Test debut under his captaincy. He brings a lot of energy to the side. He will always be the leader in the group and his contribution has been immense and will always be immense going further,” Jasprit Bumrah said in the press conference.
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Bumrah further talked about the fitness culture which Kohli brought in the Indian team.
“He brought a lot of change to Indian cricket, he brought the fitness culture, everybody was heading in the same direction. Everybody got fitter as a team, so his contribution to the team has been immense and is still immense. He is a very important player, a leader in the group,” Bumrah added.
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The premier pacer said that Kohli’s role will always be crucial in the Indian team and his inputs and suggestions will help all the players.
“He has captained for such a long period of time so his assistance and his knowledge of the game will always help us. His contribution will always be important. So even now when he is there in the squad, he will obviously add inputs and give suggestions so that’s very important for all our players. We always look up to him,” Bumrah said.
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