On the eve of his 200th appearance for the Royal Challengers Bangalore, Virat Kohli announced that this would be his last season as captain of the franchise.

This announcement comes just days after he let the world know about his decision to relinquish his T20I captaincy once the T20 World Cup, that starts next month in the UAE, gets over. Having taken the decision “in the best interest of the franchise”, Kohli, however, added that he would continue playing for RCB till his retirement from the game.

“It has been a great and an inspiring journey, captaining a talented bunch of players in the RCB squad. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the RCB management, coaches, support staff, players and the entire RCB family.

“It wasn’t an easy decision, but one that has been well thought of and in the best interest of this wonderful franchise. The RCB family remains close to my heart as we continue to strive to achieve excellence.

“As I have mentioned previously on many occasions, I will only play for RCB until my retirement from the game of cricket,” Kohli said in a statement issued by the franchise late on Sunday evening.

The decision was also taken in view of the grand auction that’s scheduled before the IPL’s next edition.

“I needed the space to refresh, regroup and be clear about how I want to move forward. RCB are going through a transitional phase and there’s a big auction coming in, so I had to take such a decision.

“It’s just a little halt. The journey will continue just like it has been for so many years,” Kohli said in a video message.

Being with RCB since the IPL’s inception in 2008, Kohli has been captaining the side since 2013 but has been unable to win the trophy for the franchise.

Under him, RCB’s best performance came in 2016 when they finished runners-up, while they managed to reach the playoffs last year after disappointing shows in the preceding three seasons.