Virat Kohli breaks silence on quitting as India, RCB captain

Virat Kohli has opened up about one of the most turbulent phases of his cricketing career — between 2016 and 2019 — when the burden of expectations as captain of both India and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) began to take a toll on his mental well-being. Kohli revealed that the constant spotlight and leadership responsibilities eventually led him to step down as captain of both the Indian team and RCB.

"I've said this before — I had the opportunity to explore and look elsewhere, especially during the peak years of my career. From 2016 to 2019, there were constant suggestions for me to switch. At one point, it became really tough because too much was happening. I was captaining India for 7-8 years and RCB for 9 years. There were expectations from me with the bat in every game I played," Kohli told Mayanti Langer on the RCB podcast.

He admitted that the stress began to affect his love of the game. "I never felt like the attention was off me. I was always in a space where I didn’t know what to do. I was exposed to it 24x7, and it got really tough. I decided that if I wanted to stay in this space, I needed to be happy. I wanted to be in a place where I could just play cricket without being judged."

Kohli also revealed that during those difficult years, he contemplated the idea of leaving RCB — but insisted he was never truly "tempted" to make the move. In the end, it was the "mutual respect" and the "meaningful relationship" he had built with the franchise that outweighed the appeal of a fresh start elsewhere.

"I wouldn't say I was tempted, but I did think about it. I asked myself, 'What is more valuable to me?' I’ve won a lot of things for India, I’ve earned a lot of accolades. "So I had to make a decision: do I want to go into a new setup and figure things out again? That’s when I realised that the relationship I’ve built here is more valuable — and so is the mutual respect that’s developed over so many years. Now, I’m just going to see it through. Whether we win or not, it’s fine. This is my home."