Virat Kohli took to social media on Saturday to drop a bombshell on the cricketing world as he announced that, after being at the helm for seven years, he is relinquishing the Test captaincy. 

Kohli announced the decision a day after India lost the three-match series 1-2 against South Africa.

Kohli, while announcing his decision, said that everything must come to an end and he can't be dishonest to his team. The 33-year-old thanked former head coach Ravi Shastri, former skipper MS Dhoni and all his teammates as he stood down as the Test captain.

pic.twitter.com/huBL6zZ7fZ

— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) January 15, 2022

"I have always believed in giving my 120 percent in everything I do, and if I can't do that, I know it's not the right thing to do. I have absolute clarity in my head and I cannot be dishonest to my team," Kohli wrote in his note.

The cricket fraternity was in disbelief following the development and many paid tribute to Kohli's legacy as the skipper in the longest format of the game.

A tough one to take. Thank you to all the fans for your support pic.twitter.com/24wyhnhdyW

— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) January 14, 2022

India's white-ball captain Rohit Sharma too reacted to the news and expressed his "shock" while congratulating Kohli on a "successful stint".  

"Shocked!! But congratulations on a successful stint as Indian captain. All the best for future (translated from Hindi)," Rohit wrote on Instagram along with a picture with Kohli.

View this post on Instagram

After Rohit posted a picture with Kohli and wished him well for the future, fans of the former skipper took to social media to hit back at the white-ball captain.

Wah kya acting hai

— arman (@arrman_n) January 16, 2022

pic.twitter.com/HJBx67GO2r

— Fakeer (@pagalukasardar) January 16, 2022

Pleasantly shocked

— Muskan Aggarwal (@muskan401) January 16, 2022

Rohit is so shocked he stopped following Kohli 3 years ago.

— Piyush Sharma (@PiyushS24196569) January 16, 2022

Rohit Sharma >> Kamal Haasan in Acting

— S M P (@PraneethTweets9) January 16, 2022

Stop this drama Rohit ..

— BCCI's Hater (@its_ur_sultan) January 16, 2022

Ever since Rohit found his mojo in Test cricket, there have been speculations growing on social media that there is a rift between him and Kohli.

The duo on numerous occasions cleared the air that the talk about rift is nothing but outside noise that has no effect on the team environment. 

However, when Rohit was named as the T20I captain by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Kohli was looking forward to leading the team in the ODIs but the board decided to sack him and named Rohit as the skipper in all white-ball cricket.

MUST WATCH: @imVkohli & @ImRo45 in conversation - Does it get any better than this? You cannot miss this one - by @RajalArora

For all of VK's & Hitman's Q & A click here https://t.co/xuPRQx7mB9 pic.twitter.com/nBxxONN9nb

— BCCI (@BCCI) July 7, 2019

With Kohli's decision to leave Test captaincy, it remains to be seen who will become the new captain of the Indian Test team.

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