Virat Kohli wants to learn from MS Dhoni
India’s Test captain Virat Kohli wants to learn the art of being composed and not panicking under pressure situations from India’s current ODI and T20 captain MS Dhoni. Fresh from leading India to a 3-0 series win over South Africa, Kohli heaped praise on Dhoni at an ICC event where the World T20 fixtures was announced.
About India’s 2011 World Cup winning captain, Kohli said: “I would like to learn more of the composure from Dhoni. Also his ability to not panic in pressure situations is something I would like to take from him. The World T20 win in 2007 was the launch of Dhoni as a leader.
“The way he led the young bunch of players like Rohit Sharma, S. Sreesanth and others was really praiseworthy. From there on, he became the big figure of captain not only in India but also in the world.”
The 27-year-old also believes that Dhoni has already achieved everything he possibly can, with India.
“He (Dhoni) won everything as skipper, leading the Test side to World No.1, ODI No.1 and T20 No.1. He has nothing left to achieve in his career. I have been watching him for a long time and I admire him a lot for what he has done for the country,” he added.
India will kick off their World T20 campaign against the Kiwis in Nagpur on March 15, before facing arch-rivals Pakistan in Dharamsala on March 19. Their last two matches will be against the winner of Group A iin Bengaluru on March 23 and reigning World Champions in the 50-over format, Australia in Mohali on March 27.
When asked about the favourites for the tournament, Kohli said: “Any team is favourite if the team is on form on the particular day. Any team could be the favourite. Last year, in Bangladesh, we could not win the final against Sri Lanka. We hope to keep things simple this time around and hope we will come out victorious.
“Watching India win the 2007 World T20 was a different experience. It was a milestone. It was really a proud feeling for the entire nation then and from then Indian cricket took off to different heights,” he said.
He also picked out his RCB teammate AB de Villiers as someone to watch out for.
“One batsman we can watch out for is de Villiers. I have been a great admirer of him for long. He has done all things right in the past three years. After playing alongside him in Indian Premier League (IPL) for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), I got to know him more,” he said.
“Other young players should learn from him how to apply themselves in different situations. Like he can play a sparking, swashbuckling innings, he can also play a composed slow innings, like he did in the Delhi Test”.