Former South African pacesetter Dale Steyn had a different opinion about Virat Kohli’s decision to step down as India’s test captain. While many pundits and former cricketers were ‘surprised’ by Kohli’s unexpected announcement a day after India’s 1-2 defeat to South Africa in the three-match Test series, Steyn said it might help Kohli emerge as a better player. to come forward. The former Proteas pace spearhead said Kohli’s decision likely had a lot to do with demands to stay away from family for a long time in a bio-bubble.
“Maybe these bio-bubbles and all of them had a role in it. I mean, it really comes down to family for someone like Virat. He now has a young family,” Steyn told Star Sports on Wednesday.
Steyn, who played a lot of cricket both with and against Kohli, said the pressure to captain a team like India can build up as you get to a certain point in your career.
“Being a captain is a selfless thing. We all have to focus on ourselves to provide the best for the team, but the moment you bring other people into your family like your wife, your kids, the other things don’t matter so much. Now that Virat has given up his captaincy he will focus more on his family and more on his batting. You might even see a better Virat Kohli. He hasn’t scored an international 100 in a while,” Steyn added.
The 33-year-old looked good again, but failed to reach the three-figure mark in the first ODI against South Africa in Paarl, which the hosts won by 31 runs. India was on course until Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan (79) were about to be on the line, but once their partnership was broken, things went downhill for the visitors. Kohli, in his first batting appearance in five years, scored 52 off 63 balls.
Earlier, Kohli, India’s most successful Test captain, decided to step down as leader after leading India in 68 Tests and winning 40 of them.
Under Kohli’s leadership, India has achieved many highlights including reaching the No. 1 ranking and staying at the top of the table for quite some time, two series wins in Australia, reaching the WTC final and a flawless record at home – India has not lost any Test series led by Kohli at home.
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