Virat Kohli will be remembered for the benchmarks he has set, says Ravichandran Ashwin

On Saturday, in a decision that took the cricket world by storm, Virat Kohli decided to step down as captain of the Indian Test team after seven years at the helm. He was India's most successful Test skipper ever having led the team 68 times and ending up victorious in 40 of those matches. Following Kohli's announcement, his teammate and Team India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin wonderfully articulated his feelings in regard to the decision and the impact he had on the team during his seven-year stint. He said that while captains are remembered for their records and wins, Kohli will be remembered for the kind of benchmarks he set.

Ravichandran Ashwin wrote on Twitter: "Cricket captains will always be spoken about with respect to their records and the kind of triumphs they managed, but your legacy as a captain will stand for the kind of benchmarks you have set. There will be people who will talk about wins in Australia, England, Sl etc etc. Wins are just a result and the seeds are always sown well before the harvest! The seeds you managed to sow is the kind of standard you set for yourself and hence set the expectations straight with the rest of us. Well done Virat Kohli on the headache you have left behind for your successor and that’s my biggest takeaway from your stint as captain. 'We must leave a place at such an altitude that the future can only take it higher from there on'."

 Virat Kohli steps down from all formats as skipper

Towards the end of 2021, BCCI had announced that Virat Kolhi would not be the captain of India's ODI team. Prior to that, Kohli had himself resigned from the role of India's T20I captain so that he could concentrate on Test cricket, however, it seems that is no longer the case. Why he gave up the captaincy is unknown and till Kohli himself speaks about it, everyone can just speculate on reasons. It is pertinent to note here that Kohli was India's most successful Test skipper having led the team 68 times and ending up victorious in 40 of those matches.

Image: BCCI