IPL 2021: Why Gautam Gambhir is surprised at Virat Kohli's decision to quit RCB captaincy

Virat Kohli's decision to walk down as captain of Royal Challengers Bangalore after the IPL 2021 season has been questioned by former India international Gautham Gambhir. Kohli announced on Sunday that he will step down as RCB captain at the end of the current season in the UAE. Gambhir, speaking on Star Sports Network about the matter, said the timing of the decision "surprised" him because it has the potential of unsettling the squad. As per Gambhir, Kohli should have waited till the competition was over before disclosing his plan to step down as RCB's captain.

Making the statement a day before RCB's first match of the second leg of the IPL 2021, according to Gambhir, was not a wise move by Kohli because it could unsettle the team and make the players emotional. "Why would you put that extra pressure?," Gautam Gambhir asked. "You don't want to win for a person, you want to win for the franchise," the 2011 World Cup-winning player added, implying that the decision was probably made to put pressure on players to win the title for Kohli this year.

Kohli to resign as T20I captain after WC

Earlier this week, Kohli stunned the cricketing world as he announced that he will step down as the captain of India's T20I side following the conclusion of the T20 World Cup in November. Kohli took to social media to share a lengthy post, where he said that he reached the decision after a lot of thought and discussions with "close people", including Ravi Shastri and Rohit Sharma. Kohli said that he took the decision in order to ease pressure on his workload, which has been immense for the past few years. Kohli further confirmed that he will continue to play the shortest format for India as a pure batsman moving forward. 

Kohli will be seen in action against Kolkata Knight Riders today in the second match of the IPL 2021 UAE phase. Royal Challengers Bangalore is currently sitting pretty at number three on the points table with five wins in seven matches. Even if Kohli and his team win tonight's match against Kolkata, they will remain at the number three position because of a poorer net run rate compared to Delhi Capitals. 

Image: PTI