Why Making sense of Virat Kohli's decision to step down

 After the Cape Town Test ended on Friday (January 14) evening, Vi rat Kohl I was seen speaking one-on-one with Rahul Dr avid for a long time at the New lands Stadium. The communication wasn't in the dressing room, possibly because there would be other members of the squad, but in the dining room of the stadium. After about an hour long, the team left for the hotel. A couple of hours later, the squad members gathered in the team room there, where Kohl I announced his decision to give up the Test captaincy.

 Those in the know, and who have spoken to Kohl I about his decision, have told Cricbuzz that he planned to relinquish the captaincy even if India, favorites to beat South Africa, had won the series.

 By the time Kohl I announced his voluntary resignation to his teammates, it was late in the night in India, but Cricbuzz learns that the India captain made a call to BCC I secretary Jay Shah to inform about his decision. This time around, there was no conference call, like the one in September 2020 when Kohl I had announced his decision to give up the T20I captaincy. The call to Shah about giving up the Test captaincy was instead direct, and no one else was part of that conversation.

 Cricbuzz also understands that efforts were made at different levels to convince Kohl I not to give up the captaincy, and it could be the reason why the decision was made public about 20 hours after the end of the Test. There is no guarantee that more efforts will not be made, so that's about it for Kohl I and the Test captaincy for the time being. The obvious bit about Kohl I decision is that he wants to focus on his batting, and time away from the leadership will allow him time to work on his game. But that said, his decision to resign can't be mutually exclusive with how the ODI captaincy changeover was handled. On the previous occasion, when the baton was taken away from MS Dhoti and handed to Kohl I in 2018, the transfer of leadership was very smooth. This time, it wasn't so much. The changeover from Kohl I to Rohit appeared forced, rather than smooth and peaceful.

 So, what next? There won't be an announcement by the BCC I in the next 24 hours on who will be Kohl I successor. The decision instead will be made before the Sri Lanka series in February. Rohit Sharma is sure to be on selectors' radar, but the problem facing them is the batsman's frequent breakdowns. When the BCC I

 Authorities were asked about it, the answer was, there is sufficient time.

 The obvious bit about Kohl I decision is that he wants to focus on his batting, and time away from the leadership will allow him time to work on his game. But that said, his decision to resign can't be mutually exclusive with how the ODI captaincy changeover was handled. On the previous occasion, when the baton was taken away from MS Dhoti and handed to Kohl I in 2018, the transfer of leadership was very smooth. This time, it wasn't so much. The changeover from Kohl U to Rohit appeared forced, rather than smooth and peaceful