Former South African pacer Dale Steyn explains why he thinks Virat Kohli gave up Test cricket captaincy of the Indian cricket team and it has absolutely nothing to do with the game itself. Talking about how he did not find Kohli’s decision to step down, Steyn suggests that it was more about spending time with his “young family” and staying away from the dreadful bio-bubble. 

“Maybe these bio-bubbles and all had a role in it. I mean it really boils down to family for somebody like Virat. He's got a young family right now,” Steyn told Star Sports on Wednesday.

Steyn has known Kohli for a really long time. Apart from being highly competitive rivals on the field during international matches, the two legends of the game had also been teammates for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League for five years. They are also great friends off the field and therefore know each other very well. 

The former Protea, therefore, suggests that the pressure of leading a cricket team as talented and demanding as India can begin to get in the way of a cricketer’s personal career after a certain point. For Kohli, Steyn believes, the point came after seven great years and after creating a beautiful family.

“Captaincy is a selfless thing. We all have to focus on ourselves to provide the best for the team but the moment you bring other people into your family like your wife, your children the other things don't matter too much. Now that Virat has relinquished captaincy, he will focus more on his family and more on his batting. You might even see a better Virat Kohli. He hasn't scored an international hundred for a while,” Steyn added. 

As days go by, more and more people are getting fixated on the fact that Kohli is not scoring a century in any format of the game. The criticism is understandable considering the fact that the last time he scored in triple digits happened in November 2019. However, it is also equally unfair to undermine Kohli’s performance over time and simply overlook some of the greatest innings he’s played just because he did not break the 100-run barrier.

For instance, the 79-run inning in the second Test against South Africa was an integral part of the Men in Blue’s efforts to build a decent total to defend, especially when all his teammates were dropping like flies. 

Kohli also looked really good in the first ODI against the Proteas on Wednesday. He also established a 92-run partnership with Shikhar Dhawan for the second wicket before the latter got bowled by Keshab Mahajan.

Up until that point, the Indian batters looked really good and were predicted to win the match easily. However, as soon as Kohli’s wicket fell in the 29th over, the rest of the batting lineup also broke apart quickly. India lost the first ODI by 31 runs.

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