Virat Kohli’s decision to quit captaincy doesn’t surprise Kevin Pietersen

The 33-year-old Virat Kohli held the record for most Test wins by an Indian captain (40) with only Graeme Smith, Ricky Ponting, and Steve Waugh having won more matches than him.

Kevin Pietersen (left) with Virat Kohli. (Source: Twitter)

Former England skipper Kevin Pietersen on Thursday (January 20) suggested that ‘harsh’ bio-bubble life could be one of the reasons for Virat Kohli quitting Test captaincy as he backed Rohit Sharma to lead India in all formats. Kohli stunned the cricketing world by stepping down from the Test captaincy following India's 1-2 series loss to South Africa. He had earlier relinquished T20 captaincy after the World Cup last year, something that led to a war of words with BCCI, leading to his removal from ODI leadership.

“People who are critical of the modern day sportsmen I think are foolish because these bio-bubbles are very hard to play in,” the former England star batsman told news agency PTI in a group interaction on the sidelines of Legends League Cricket in Muscat.

“It will be very unfair to be too harsh, to be critical. Because you have not looked at Virat Kohli. Kohli needs crowds, he gets going (from it), he is an entertainer. I think it’s very difficult for his personality to perform to the best of his (Kohli's) abilities (in the bubble).”

The 33-year-old Kohli held the record for most Test wins by an Indian captain (40) with only Graeme Smith, Ricky Ponting, and Steve Waugh having won more matches than him. Pietersen said he was not surprised when Kohli quit captaincy from all formats.

pic.twitter.com/huBL6zZ7fZ

— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) January 15, 2022

“A lot of players have suffered. It is the greatest job in the world. But when you put them in a bubble, it’s certainly not the greatest job because there is no fun,” the 41-year-old said. “I’m actually not surprised that Virat wants just a little bit of a break from that extra pressure because it's damn difficult playing in these bubbles,” he said.

“It’s very difficult to judge all International sportsmen, be it premier league footballers or any sportsman around the world, playing in a pandemic.”

Pietersen said from his perspective, he would not have performed well for two years without any crowd, with nobody watching. “As a batter, I feed on the energy of players, and there are a lot of these players, be it in football, rugby or tennis,” he added.

(with PTI inputs)