It may be easier for Virat Kohli to break batting records without responsibility of captaincy: Ricky Ponting

Ricky Pointing says he was "shocked" at Virat Kohli recently stepping down from Test captaincy but suggested that he must have taken the decision in his bid to do better with the bat and break some records. Ponting, one of the most successful captains ever, hailed Kohli for his leadership skills, saying that under him India had improved its overseas record by winnings more Tests abroad than before. He also backed Rohit Sharma to do well as Kohli's successor.

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"Yes, it did actually (surprise me)...I was shocked... Probably the main reason why I had a chat and good catch-up with Virat during the first part of the IPL (2021) before it got postponed," Ponting said in the first episode of 'The ICC Review'. "He was talking then about stepping away (from captaincy) from white-ball cricket and how passionate he was to continue on to be Test match captain. He just loved and cherished that job and that post so much. When I heard it, I was really, really surprised." But upon reflection of his own experience as captain, Ponting felt Kohli must have weighed in many factors before his decision.

Virat Kohli. (Photo by Grant Pitcher/Gallo Images/Getty Images)"There is potentially a shelf-life for international cricket captains and even coaches. Virat's been there for close to seven years now. If there's a country in the world that's the most difficult to captain,