Sports Desk:

Virat Kohli will step down as captain of Royal Challengers Bangalore at the end of this season’s Indian Premier League.

Kohli had already announced he will relinquish the captaincy of India in the Twenty20 format after the T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates in October and November.

“(I’ve) spoken to the squad this evening, before the second leg of the tournament starts, to inform everyone that this is going to be my last leg in the IPL as captain of our city,” Kohli said in a video message posted on RCB’s Twitter account on Sunday.

“(This was) something that was on my mind for a while … to manage my workload which has been immense over the last so many years. I want to continue to be committed to the responsibilities that I’m fulfilling, and I felt I needed the space to refresh, to regroup and be absolutely clear in how I want to move forward.”

Kohli has led Bangalore since 2013 but has not yet won the world’s most lucrative T20 league. Kohli said he will continue with Bangalore as a player.

“I’ve made it clear to the management that, you know, I can’t think of me being in any other team than RCB,” he said. “That has been my commitment from Day 1 (and) I will continue to be RCB player till I play my last game in the IPL.”

Bangalore is currently third after winning five of its seven games in India before the IPL was suspended in May due to coronavirus. The league resumed in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday with Chennai Super Kings beating defending champions Mumbai Indians by 20 runs.