Virat Kohli recently discussed one of the most difficult times in his cricketing career, which lasted from 2016 to 2019. During this challenging time, the intense pressure of meeting the expectations as the captain of both the Indian team and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) started impacting his mental health. Kohli admitted that the constant media attention and the heavy burden of leadership played a significant role in his choice to step down from captaincy of both teams.

Following the conclusion of the 2021 IPL season, Kohli opted to resign from his captaincy role at RCB and also stepped down as the T20I captain for India.

Subsequently, the BCCI made the decision to relieve Kohli of his duties as the ODI captain, emphasizing the need for a single leader to manage both white-ball formats. This chain of events, which involved a public fallout with former BCCI president Sourav Ganguly, eventually led to Kohli stepping down as India’s Test captain in early 2022.

“I had the chance to explore other options, particularly during the prime years of my career. Between 2016 and 2019, there were constant suggestions that I should make a change. At one point, it became overwhelming because so much was happening. I had been captaining India for 7-8 years and RCB for 9 years. There were high expectations on me to perform with the bat in every match,” Kohli told Mayanti Langer.

He acknowledged that the pressure started to impact his passion for the game. “I never felt like the spotlight was not on me. I was always in a place where I didn’t know how to handle it. I was constantly in the public eye, 24/7, and it became extremely difficult. I decided that if I wanted to stay in this space, I needed to be happy. I wanted to find a space where I could simply play cricket without being constantly judged.”