Former India opener and Kolkata Knight Riders captain Gautam Gambhir expressed his displeasure at Virat Kohli's decision to step down as captain of Royal Challengers Bangalore in the middle of the season. Gambhir said Virat Kohli's announcement which was made on the eve of RCB's first match of the UAE leg of IPL 2021 can make the team unsettled and put more pressure on them to win it for their captain."Yes, it does (the timing of the decision surprises me). Just before the 2nd leg of the tournament. If you want to do that, you probably do it after the tournament. Because it makes the team unsettled and emotional as well. It makes the people probably push even harder. You would not want to do that, especially the kind of situation RCB is in," Gambhir said on the Star Sports at the end of the Mumbai Indians vs Chennai Super King match on Sunday.
"They are in a very good position. Why would you want to put that extra pressure, probably push your players to probably do it for Virat. You don't want to win it for individuals, you want to win it for the franchise. If he wanted to do it, he could have done it after the tournament as well."Appointed ahead of the 2013 season as a successor to Daniel Vettori, Kohli will end up with nine seasons at the helm for RCB. So far, the side has won 62 of the 132 matches under him to go with 66 losses and 4 no-results. The best season finish under him so far has been a runners-up spot in 2016, a final that RCB lost to SunRisers Hyderabad by 8 runs at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, their home ground. Other than that, the franchise made the playoffs on only two other occasions under Kohli's leadership: in 2015 and 2020. RCB Chairman Prathmesh Mishra said, "Virat Kohli is one of the finest cricketers, and has been a true asset to RCB. His impeccable work ethics and leadership skills has been phenomenal. We respect and support this decision and would like to thank Virat for his incredible contribution to the RCB leadership group. He has left an indelible mark on the franchise and will continue to be a senior member of the team. "RCB restart this season's campaign today against Kolkata Knight Riders in Abu Dhabi.
