MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli catch up during a practice session ahead of IPL 2022
Indian legends MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli caught up during a practice session for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022. All 10 franchises are gearing up for the 15th edition of the T20 league, which will begin on Saturday, March 26.
Defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will take on last season’s runners-up Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the opening match at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
Virat Kohli will be in action when the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) take on the Punjab Kings (PBKS) at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on March 27.
On Friday, RCB’s official Instagram handle shared two images of MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli taking some time out to have a chat during a practice session. The franchise shared the pictures with the caption:
“Just a couple of LEGENDS catching up at practice. #PlayBold #WeAreChallengers #IPL2022 #Mission2022 #RCB #ViratKohli #MSDhoni.”
Both Dhoni and Kohli have quit the captaincy of their respective franchises. While the former has decided to hand over CSK’s leadership to Ravindra Jadeja, the latter quit as RCB captain after IPL 2021. MS Dhoni finished his stint with four IPL trophies, while Virat Kohli failed to win even one. Under Kohli, RCB reached the final in 2016.
Kohli hails Dhoni over legendary captaincy stint with CSK
Following MSD’s decision to quit the captaincy of the Chennai franchise, Virat Kohli took to social media to praise the former India skipper. The man who succeeded Dhoni as Indian captain shared a picture of him hugging the CSK cricketer. Along with the picture, Virat Kohli wrote on social media:
"Legendary captaincy tenure in yellow, skip. A chapter fans will never forget. Respect always.”
Dhoni ended his captaincy stint in the IPL with 121 wins and 82 losses from 204 games. Apart from CSK, the 40-year-old briefly also led Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS) when Chennai was suspended from the IPL.
The legendary cricketer’s successor at CSK, Ravindra Jadeja, admitted that he has big boots to fill. In a video posted on Chennai’s official social media handles, Jadeja said:
“Feeling good. I know that I have to fill in big boots. Mahi bhai has already set a big legacy, So I need to carry that forward, so hopefully… I don’t need to worry too much because he is here. Whatever questions I have to ask, I will definitely go to him. He’ll be my go-to person. He was and still is today. So I am not worried too much.”
Under Dhoni, CSK lifted the IPL trophy last season, defeating KKR in the final in Dubai by 27 runs.