Virat Kohli may have resigned as Test captain to avoid being sacked: Sunil Gavaskar

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar reckons that Virat Kohli perhaps decided to step down as Test captain to avoid being sacked for the second time in a month.

Kohli lost his job as ODI captain ahead of the South Africa tour and before that he had stepped down as India's T20I captain following their exit from the T20 World Cup 2021.

India went down 1-2 to South Africa in the Test series, which was something they were favourites to win especially after going 1-0 up at Centurion. However, the Proteas bounced back to win in Johannesburg and Cape Town to prolong India's wait for a series win in the Rainbow Nation.

Gavaskar reckons overseas defeats are not something that the BCCI would take lightly and says that he is not surprised with Kohli's decision.

"I'm not surprised at all. I thought that it might have come at the presentation ceremony, but that would have looked like it has come out of a sense of anger having lost the series. So, I think a little bit of gap and the decision has come," Gavaskar said on India Today.

"As a captain, I have experienced that series defeats overseas are not taken too kindly by the board and the cricket-loving public or board officials. The captain is in danger of being sacked. That has happened in the past and I'm pretty certain that this could have happened this time around because this was a series that India was expected to win and win easily," he added.

Did Kohli resign to avoid being sacked? Gavaskar says that it is possible.

"Looking at the fact that he had been removed as ODI captain. Yes, having lost this series, that was always possible. If you don't win, what happens? Doesn't matter if he's been individually successful, in a team sport, the captain is the one where the buck stops."