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Kohli wrote in a statement which he posted on Twitter, taking everyone by surprise.
“There have been many ups and also some downs along the journey but there has never been lack of effort or lack of belief.”
Interestingly, when Kohli had quit T20 captaincy, he had also posted his message on social media.
“It’s been seven years of hard work, toil and relentless perseverance everyday 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 statement.
He hasn’t had the best of relationship with BCCI of late but took the opportunity to thank the establishment in his statement.
“I want to thank the BCCI for giving me the opportunity to lead my country for such a long period of time and more importantly to all the teammates who bought into the vision, I had for the team from day one and never gave up in any situation,” he said.
He didn’t forget to thank Ravi Shastri and MS Dhoni for their contribution.
“You guys have made this journey so memorable and beautiful. To Ravi bhai and the support group who were the engine behind this vehicle that moved us upwards in Test cricket consistently, you all have played a massive role in bringing this vision to life.”
“Lastly, a big thank you to MS Dhoni who believed in me as a captain and found me to be an able individual who could take Indian cricket forward,” he signed off.
He is the third most successful captain in 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 took over the Test captaincy charge after MS Dhoni announced retirement from the longest format. India were ranked 7th when he was named the captain and he stepped down with India topping the Test rankings. He captained India in 63 matches as India emerged victorious in 40 out of it. Under his leadership, India registered their first-ever Test series win on Australian soil and also played the first-ever ICC World Test Championship Final.
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