India pacer Mohammed Siraj paid an emotional tribute to Virat Kohli, who stepped down as India’s Test captain recently.
The magnitude of the bombshell that Kohli dropped on Saturday by announcing that he was stepping down as Test captain of India hasn’t quite sunk in yet. Kohli galvanized the Test team into a unit that constantly chased brilliance and managed to create history several times in the process.
Virat’s last assignment in charge of the Test side was the series against South Africa. India failed to create history once again by winning their first Test series in the rainbow nation. Instead, they had to settle for a 2-1 loss as the hosts won the series decider in Cape Town.
Also read 👉 Kohli steps down as India Test captain after 7 years
His decision to step down from leadership comes as a jolt from the blue given its timing. India has no clear replacements for him in that role and his successor will have to take some doing in order to emulate similar success.
“I’ve done the job with absolute honesty and left nothing out there. I want to thank the BCCI for giving me the opportunity to lead my country for such a long period of time and more importantly to all the teammates who bought into the vision I had for the team from day one and never gave up in any situation,”
tweeted Kohli.
The 33-year-old also went on to thank the BCCI for their support and his teammates for constantly giving their all on the pitch. He also highlighted former head coach Ravi Shastri’s contributions towards achieving greatness. He concluded the note by thanking his former leader MS Dhoni who had passed on the responsibility of the side to him in 2014.
Following Kohli’s announcement, several Indian cricketers took their time to thank him for his service on social media. However, Mohammed Siraj’s tribute has stood out for the genuine emotional weight it carries.
“To my superhero, I cannot be thankful enough for the support and the encouragement that I got from you. You have always been my great brother. Thank you for trusting me and believing in me for all these years. For seeing the great at my worst. You will be always be my captain King Kohli,” stated
Siraj on Instagram.
Although Siraj made his Test debut under Ajinkya Rahane’s leadership when Kohli was on paternity leave in Australia, he credits the 33-year-old for turning his career around by constantly supporting and backing him during their years together in Royal Challengers Bangalore.
