'I was always in MS Dhoni's ears standing next to him', says Virat Kohli
Indian skipper Virat Kohli has opened up on the things he learned from MS Dhoni and the latter's crucial role in transferring captaincy duties to him.
In a live YouTube session with Ravichandran Ashwin on his segment 'Reminisce With Ash', Kohli spoke candidly on several topics involving the transition from leading the India U-19 team in 2008 to leading the senior team, his highest ODI score of 183 against Pakistan and more.
He also credited MS Dhoni for helping him understand the dynamics of international captaincy and transferring the authority to him smoothly. Kohli revealed that MS Dhoni's insight as the captain helped him immensely in his role as the leader of the team in all three formats.
"I was always in MS’s [Dhoni] ears, standing next to him, ‘yeh kar sakte ho, woh kar sakte ho’ (can we try these things, what do you think?). He would deny a lot of things but he would discuss a lot of things as well, so he got a lot of confidence that I can do this [captaincy] after him... I think a large portion of me becoming captain was also to do with him [Dhoni] observing me for a long period. It just can’t happen as he goes and selectors say ‘you become captain’."
"The guy who is there, he takes responsibility and says okay, ‘I think this is the next guy and I will tell you how he is going’ and then slowly that transition is formed... He played a big role in that and that trust you have to build over, say six-seven years, it just doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a process."
Kuldeep Yadav talked about MS Dhoni's qualities
MS Dhoni is yet to represent India since the infamous loss to New Zealand in the semi-final of the ICC World Cup 2019. He was set to captain CSK in IPL 2020 but that has been delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Indian spinner Kuldeep Yadav spoke exclusively with Sportskeeda recently and stated how the Indian team misses MS Dhoni more often than not. He explained that Dhoni is extremely fit and should put on the blue jersey again.
“I am of course missing MS Dhoni. Whenever you play with a senior player, you become fond of them and start missing them and their presence. As far as his retirement is concerned, it is MS Dhoni’s decision and it should be left to him. There is no point for us to debate on that. He is very fit and I personally feel he should play for India. As a fan, I absolutely love him. If he plays, it would be easier for us [India].”