• Ricky Ponting reveals why he was surprised with Virat's decision to quit captaincy 

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    Ricky Ponting reveals why he was surprised with Virat's decision to quit captaincy 
    Digital Desk: Australian top-order batsman Ricky Ponting recently revealed a chat with Indian cricket team batsman Virat Kohli during the first half of IPL 2021. Ricky Ponting stated that Virat seemed passionate about carrying on as a Test skipper.

     Indian former Test series captain Virat Kohli steeped down India's Test captaincy position after India's loss against South Africa. Kohli stepped down as the captain after guiding the team for the last seven years. Previously, Kohli also stepped down as T20I captain and was sacked as an ODI skipper.

    In an interview shared on the International Cricket Council's (ICC) official website, Ponting revealed that he was shocked by Kohli's action, considering his talk with the star cricketer during IPL 2021. 

    The former Australian captain stated, "Yes, it did actually (shock me). The main cause is that I had a conversation and sound catch-up with Virat during the first part of the IPL (2021) before it got delayed. He was speaking then concerning stepping away (from captaincy) from white-ball cricket and how devoted he was to resume to be Test match captain. He just valued and adored that position and that post so much. The Indian Test team had gained a lot under his supervision. So when I heard it, I was really, really surprised."

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    Ricky Ponting added a few lines praising the former Indian Test captain Virat Kohli. Ponting stated, "You only have to watch him on the field for an hour of the day's play to realize how passionate he is about that job and the role, and how much he wants the team to win and how much he wants the best for Indian cricket."

    He further added that under the captainship of Virat Kohli, the Indian team started winning a few more matches overseas, which was a significant achievement. 

    Ponting counted, "If you think about India before Virat, it was about winning a lot of games at home and not winning quite as many overseas. So the thing that improved the most was India winning a few more games overseas, and that's something that he and all of the Indian cricket have to be really proud of."