Virat Kohli sends message to MS Dhoni as he steps down as captain

Virat Kohli surprised everyone across the globe on Saturday, announcing unexpectedly that he was stepping down as Test skipper of the Indian cricket team. His call to quit the Test captaincy came just a day following India's Test series loss in South Africa.

Albeit his announcement did not come during the Test series, like MS Dhoni had done, but the sorrow of it all still bore some similarty to Dhoni's announcement in Australia in 2014.

In his statement shared on social media, Virat Kohli thanked the BCCI and former India coach Ravi Shastri but also had a message for MS Dhoni.

"I want to thank the BCCI for giving me the opportunity to lead my country for such a long period of time and more importantly, to all the teammates who bought into the vision I had for the team from day one and never gave up in any situation. You guys have made this journey so memorable and beautiful. To Ravi bhai and the support group who were the engine behind this vehicle that moved us upwards in Test cricket consistently, you all have played a massive role in bringing this vision to life," Kohli's statement read.

In the last line of his statement, the 33-year-old thanked Dhoni for believing in his leadership skills.

"Lastly, a big thank you to MS Dhoni who believed in me as a captain and found me to be an able individual who could take Indian Cricket forward," wrote Kohli.

Earlier in September, Virat Kohli had put out that he was stepping down as India T20 captain -- his decision came after India's early exit from the T20 World Cup in the UAE. This was then followed by the Indian board's decision to replace him with Rohit Sharma as ODI skipper.

The run machine ends his captaincy term as India's most successful leader in the Test format. He led India in 68 Tests, leading the team to 40 wins with just 11 losses to his name.

As a matter of fact, Virat Kohli is the one of the most successful captains in the history of Test cricket. Only Graeme Smith, Ricky Ponting, and Steve Waugh have won more matches than King Kohli as skipper in the longest fromat.

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