Reports - Virat Kohli turned down BCCI's offer to captain India in his 100th Test match in Bengaluru

Virat Kohli decided to step down from his position of Test captain after India lost the series against South Africa. A new report suggests that BCCI had offered Kohli to captain the side for one last time in his 100th Test in Bengaluru. But, he denied the offer as he had already made his mind about stepping down.

A senior BCCI official offered Kohli a farewell match as captain in Bengaluru on Friday during a phone call. Notably, Kohli considers Bengaluru his second home because of his Indian T20 League franchise Bangalore, for which he has played since 2008. Kohli reportedly mentioned that one match won’t make any difference and wanted to give up the pressure of leading the Test team

“One match makes no difference. That’s not how I am,” Kohli said according to a report published in Hindustan Times.

Kohli had already informed his teammates and head coach Rahul Dravid about his decision after India lost the third Test against South Africa. He made a Tweet from his official account to inform the public of his decision. It came as a shocker for both the cricketing fraternity and his fans across the world.

Another report suggests that BCCI has decided to make Rohit Sharma the new captain of the Indian Test team. Rohit is also the captain of the limited-overs team. BCCI is yet to decide on who might be Rohit’s deputy. KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, and Jasprit Bumrah are the front-runners for this role.

Rahul captained India during the second Test against South Africa. He was appointed the vice-captain of the Test side after Rohit was ruled out of the series against Proteas. Pant led the Delhi team in the ITL last season and helped the team to reach the qualifiers. Bumrah has been named the vice-captain of the Indian team for the ODI series against South Africa.