“I was gone”: Virat Kohli reveals thought-process before stepping down as RCB captain

Royal Challengers Bangalore Women won their first match of the Women’s Premier League 2023 by defeating UP Warriorz by five wickets. Ahead of the match, former RCB captain Virat Kohli gave a pep talk to the team. It certainly can be said that the pep talk worked and RCB kept their chances alive in the tournament.

Kohli motivated the players to do well despite a tough start to the tournament. He advised the players to give their best in the tournament despite negative results. Kohli insisted that he still feels fresh ahead of every IPL season despite not winning a single trophy so far.

During the second leg of the IPL 2021 in UAE, Kohli had announced that he will be stepping down as the captain of the side. In IPL 2022, RCB bought former South African captain Faf du Plessis in the auction, and he was made the new captain of the side as well. Under his captaincy, RCB reached the playoffs in IPL 2022.

Virat Kohli reveals thought-process before stepping down as RCB captain

During the pep talk, Kohli also recalled his mental state when he stepped down as the captain. He said that it was his own perspective and his individual call, none from the team management asked him to take the call. Kohli insisted that he just could not handle the pressure of it.

Kohli said that he was excited about the IPL 2022 season as it was a fresh opportunity for him to contribute as an individual. He also recalled the 2019 season when Bangalore lost six matches in a row and finished at the bottom of the table. Kohli revealed that he had no belief left in him.

“When my captaincy tenure was coming to an end, I was left with no belief, to be very honest. I was gone. The tank was absolutely empty. But that was my own perspective. That was just me as an individual saying that ‘I have seen so much of this, I just can’t manage it, I just can’t handle it anymore,” Kohli was quoted as saying in RCB Bold Diaries.

“But the next season, new people came in, they had new ideas, there was another opportunity. They were excited. Maybe as an individual.”

Virat Kohli RCB captaincy record

Kohli became RCB’s captain in 2013, taking over the responsibility from former New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori. Although, it is safe to say that Kohli’s record as IPL is not that great. He led RCB in 140 matches, where RCB won 66 matches and lost 70. Kohli’s win percentage as captain was just 48.52%.