Former India captain Virat Kohli came into the national side when MS Dhoni was the all-format captain. Not just Kohli, most of the current players including the likes of Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, KL Rahul, R Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav among others came into the Indian team and player under Dhoni. Since, that side won three titles spanning a couple of generations, the outgoing ones in 2011 and the newer ones in 2013, it became a tight-knit group.
Since, Kohli was Dhoni’s deputy and part of the leadership group, the relationship between the two senior pros was even closer and stronger. That was one bond that lasted the test of time, captaincy, retirement and went far beyond those boundary ropes. Kohli on a couple of occasions mentioned that when he left Test captaincy, it was only Dhoni who texted him. Now during the IPL matches between their respective teams, the cameras obviously follow both of them, but how both of them greet each other, share words and conduct themselves there is a sense of bonding and mutual respect.
As per Dhoni, it took time for this camaraderie to develop between the two and reach to the point where it is now. Speaking on JioHotstar, Dhoni revealed that a young Kohli was always curious and hungry to contribute. Even after several years, Dhoni admitted that there was an invisible wall between the two of them of senior-junior and they had to work their way through it.
“Between me and Virat, right from the start, he was someone who wanted to contribute. He was never happy with a 40 or a 60; he wanted to score a 100 and be not out till the end. So, that hunger was there right from the start,” Dhoni said.
“The way he improved his batting and his will to perform are what kept him going. He raised his fitness levels and was always there on the field. So he was always like that. He would come and talk, ‘What I could have done now? I could have done this’. We had a lot of conversations and that really opened us up. ”
“It was more like a captain and a newcomer at that point of time. Once you keep interacting, you become friends. But I still feel you have a line in the middle between a senior and a junior, but we are still friends. We have an amazing companionship now,” Dhoni added.Read Also
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Now, several years later, both Dhoni and Kohli aren’t the captains of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) respectively and are enjoying the last phases of their cricket. Kohli is still doing well at the international level and has a long way to go, the fans and the broadcasters and the want to still play in the IPL are not letting Dhoni leave that yellow shirt, at least for now.
