Sourav Ganguly 'was surprised' by Virat Kohli's decision to leave India T20I captaincy

BCCI president and former India captain Sourav Ganguly was as surprised as the common cricket-loving public at Virat Kohli’s decision to step down from the T20I captaincy of India after the T20 World Cup 2021. Ganguly made the revelation during an interview with India Today. There were reports that Kolhi was under pressure as a captain after failing to win an ICC trophy despite taking over as India’s white-ball captain in 2017. [caption id=“attachment_8954541” align=“alignnone” width=“640”]  BCCI president Sourav Ganguly. Sportzpics[/caption] Contrary to the reports, Ganguly said that there was no pressure on Kohli to relinquish captaincy. “I was surprised (that Virat Kohli decided to step down as T20 captain). This decision must have been taken only after the England tour and it is his decision. There was no pressure from our end, we didn’t tell him anything," Ganguly told India Today. The 49-year-old administrator also added that Kohli’s decision to step down from captaincy could be because of the growing demands of international cricket. “We don’t do things like that because I myself have been a player so I understand. It is very difficult to be a captain in all formats for this long. I was a captain for six years, it looks good from the outside, there is respect and all that. But you get burnt out on the inside and it happens to any captain. Not just to Tendulkar or Ganguly or Dhoni or Kohli but to the captain that will come up next as well. It is a tough job," Ganguly said. Kohli last scored an international century in 2019, but Ganguly said that “up and down happen” in the career of a player who competes for a long time. Kohli on 16 September made the announcement that he will step down from India’s T20I captaincy after the T20 World Cup 2021. Three days later, on 19 September, the cricketer announced he will be leaving Royal Challengers Bangalore captaincy after IPL 2021.