Desk Correspondent , Delhi - More than four years after stepping down as India’s Test captain, Virat Kohli has revealed the mental and emotional exhaustion that led to his decision. Kohli said the pressure of handling both leadership and batting responsibilities eventually left him “completely spent.”

Kohli stepped down as India’s Test captain in January 2022, a day after India lost the Test series 1-2 in South Africa. The decision came months after he quit T20I captaincy and was removed as ODI skipper, bringing an end to his seven-year reign as India’s most successful Test captain with 40 wins in 68 matches. Speaking during the RCB Innovation Lab, Kohli admitted that he became the focal point of both India’s batting unit and leadership group, which slowly consumed him mentally. He said he did not realise the amount of pressure he was carrying because he remained focused on keeping Indian cricket at the top. “By the time I left captaincy, I was completely spent. There was nothing left in the tank,” Kohli said.

Kohli first led India in the 2014 Adelaide Test against Australia in the absence of MS Dhoni before officially taking over as full-time captain in 2015. Under him and coach Ravi Shastri, India won five consecutive ICC Test maces and scripted a historic Test series win in Australia in 2018-19. Kohli also said leadership was more about understanding and managing people than focusing on himself, adding that he rarely had time to think about his own well-being during his captaincy years.

The former India captain revealed that towards the end of his tenure, he realised no one had really asked him “How are you doing?” for nearly nine years. Kohli’s remarks offer a candid insight into the immense pressure and personal sacrifices that came with leading India in Test cricket.