IPL 2021: RCB coach Mike Hesson thanks Virat Kohli for his immense contribution as captain

Virat Kohli's back to back announcement over captaincy has left cricket fans stunned. Ahead of the first match in IPL 2021 phase 2 against Kolkata Knight Riders on Tuesday, Virat Kohli revealed that he would step down as the Royal Challengers Bangalore captain after IPL 2021. Recently the RCB skipper stepped down as the skipper of the Team India T20 side, citing workload management as the reason. RCB coach Mike Hesson has responded to Virat Kohli's decision to step down as RCB captain by thanking him for being a "fully committed" leader during his reign. 

Responding to Virat Kohli's video message, Mike Hesson wrote that the RCB players would be fully committed to giving the outgoing skipper a fitting farewell. He wrote,

'Have only been here a short time but I thank you @imVkohli  for all you have done for @RCBTweets as a fully committed leader and team man, your energy and passion is infectious. I know the boys are fully committed to help send you out on a well deserved high skipper.'

Virat Kohli's message while stepping down as RCB skipper 

While announcing stepping down as RCB captain, Virat Kohli said "Spoke to the management this evening. It was something that was on my mind for a while. As I recently announced stepping down from T20 captaincy as well to manage my workload which has been immense over the last so many years."

He added, "I want to continue to remain committed to the responsibilities I am fulfilling and I felt I needed this space to refresh, regroup and be absolutely clear in how I want to move forward. And also understanding that RCB is going to go through a transitional phase with a big auction coming in next year. I made it clear to the management that (smiles) I can't think of being in any other team than RCB and that's been my commitment from day one."

Virat Kohli's tenure as RCB captain

Kohli has been associated with the RCB since 2008 and is leading the team in red since 2013. So far, the side has won 62 of the 132 matches played under Kohli with 6 no results and 66 losses. Their best campaign came in 2016 when they reached the finals. In IPL 2021, the team has won 5 out of seven matches In the first leg of the tournament and are third on the points table with 10 points.

Image: PTI