Look, I’ve been obsessed with cricket since I was a kid. I watched every IPL season and every India match I could. But man, Virat Kohli’s interview on that RCB podcast last week? It hit different. Like, REALLY different.
We all saw him step down as captain, but nobody really knew WHY. Until now.
Drowning in Expectations
So there’s Kohli, sitting with Mayanti Langer, and you can literally see the weight lifting off his shoulders as he finally tells his side of the story.
“At one point, it did become really tough on me because there was too much happening,” he admits, and I’m thinking, NO KIDDING! The dude was captaining India for nearly 8 years AND handling RCB for 9. Who does that???
He said something that stayed with me: “I didn’t have the sense that the attention is off me. If it wasn’t captaincy, it was batting. I was always in the space where I was like, What do I do?”
24/7 scrutiny. Every. Single. Day. For YEARS.
I remember watching him during those 2018-19 tours. The guy looked EXHAUSTED but kept pushing. We all thought he was superhuman or something. Turns out he wasn’t. He was just… drowning.
The Domino Effect
OK, so here’s the timeline, which is still wild to me:
- Steps down as RCB captain after IPL 2021
- Gives up T20I captaincy (fair enough)
- Then BOOM—he gets kicked out of ODI captaincy (that whole Ganguly drama was MESSY).
- And then, after losing in South Africa, drops the Test captaincy bomb.
In less than 3 months, Indian cricket’s most powerful figure became… just a player again. Except he’s still Virat freaking Kohli, so “just” feels wrong to say.
Wait, he almost LEFT RCB???
This part knocked me sideways. The Virat Kohli—Mr. RCB himself—actually thought about jumping ship!
“From 2016 to 2019, I had these constant suggestions to switch,” he confessed.
I was watching the interview going “NO WAY” because this guy literally IS Royal Challengers. But he actually considered it! He said he asked himself, “What is more valuable? A new challenge or the bond I’ve built here?”
Imagine if he’d gone to Mumbai or Chennai. Cricket Twitter would’ve EXPLODED!
“I Just Wanted My Life Back”
The most human part of this whole thing? When Kohli basically admitted he just couldn’t take it anymore.
“It got very, very tough on me. Itot to be too much in the end,” he said, looking genuinely relieved it was over. “That’s why I stepped down because I felt like, if I’ve decided I want to be in this place, I need to be happy.”
That’s it. Simple as that. The guy just wanted his life back.
I still remember all those press conferences where he looked like he’d rather be ANYWHERE else. All those stupid questions about his form, his decisions, blah blah blah. No wonder he cracked eventually.
Loyalty Over Trophies (Still No IPL Cup Tho…)
Here’s where I have to give Kohli massive props. In an era where players chase paychecks and trophies, this dude STAYED. 18 seasons. ONE team. Who does that anymore???
His exact words: “The love I have received from RCB fans, I don’t think any trophy can come anywhere close to it.”
Yeah, he still doesn’t have an IPL trophy (painful truth), but somehow that makes his loyalty even more impressive? He could’ve easily hopped to a stronger team. He didn’t.
The New (Old) Kohli
Have you seen him this season? DUDE IS BALLING OUT. 505 runs in 11 matches. SEVEN fifties. Averaging 63-something.
Without the captaincy baggage, he’s back to being that guy who just murders bowling attacks for fun. Smiling again. Enjoying cricket.
I was at the RCB game last weekend, and I swear he looks 5 years younger. The swagger is back. The joy is back.
Sometimes quitting isn’t failing. Sometimes it’s the smartest thing you can do.
Look, I’ve never been captain of anything more important than my fantasy cricket team, so who am I to judge? But watching Kohli’s journey has taught me something important: your mental peace matters more than any title or responsibility.
For a dude who’s given us cricket fans so many sleepless nights of celebration, I’m just happy he’s found what works for him. Captaincy nearly broke him. Letting it go saved him.
And honestly? We’re all better off for it. Especially RCB fans right now—top of the table, baby!
