HIGHLIGHTS

• Virat Kohli will step down as Royal Challengers Bangalore captain after IPL 2021
• Brian Lara backs Virat Kohli’s decision to quit RCB captaincy after IPL 2021
• Virat Kohli wants to understand his workload as captain: Brian Lara

West Indies great Brian Lara has backed Virat Kohli’s decision to leave the captaincy of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) after IPL 2021, saying the India skipper wants to understand his workload and keep committing to the responsibility he has.

Kohli made it clear that he will continue playing for the Royal Challengers Bangalore but won’t be captaining the team beyond the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 season.

Kohli this week also gave up the captaincy of India’s Twenty20 side to manage his immense workload, saying he would not continue in the role after this year’s World Cup in the United Arab Emirates and Oman.

“This will be my last IPL as captain of RCB. I’ll continue to be an RCB player till I play my last IPL game. I thank all the RCB fans for believing in me and supporting me,” said Kohli on RCB’s Twitter handle.

Kohli, who took over as RCB skipper full time in 2013, has yet to lead the side to an IPL title.

I mean, it’s pretty straightforward. He has said it as clear as possible. He wants to understand his workload and keep committing to the responsibility he has. Very well put together (his statement),” Brian Lara told Star Sports.

“I totally understand. It’s 3 formats of the game. When you go back, it was just Test cricket and the 50-over format. Now he is playing every format of the time.

“There has come a time when he feels ‘listen, I need to take a step back and maybe the focus on Test cricket and 50-overs format of the game and allow somebody else to take the responsibility (in T20s)’. To me, it’s pretty clear.

“Proud of someone who is at the height of his career and makes a decision such as this,” Lara added.

RCB take on the Kolkata Knight Riders in Abu Dhabi on Monday in their first game since the resumption of the 2021 season