Virat Kohli not far away from being a legend, claims MS Dhoni

Virat Kohli not far away from being a legend, claims MS Dhoni

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Former Indian captain, MS Dhoni has stated that the current Indian skipper Virat Kohli is already close to achieving a legendary status considering his extraordinary performances over the last few years. Kohli recently managed to top the ICC rankings in both Test and ODIs for batsmen.

Despite India falling short of the target by 31 runs in the first Test match against England at Edgbaston, Kohli was at the top of his game as he managed to score an aggregate of 200 runs in the match (149 in the first innings and 51 in the second). On the other hand, the rest of the team only managed to score 214 runs between them. Kohli’s heroics in the first Test ensured that the Indian skipper displaced banned Aussie skipper Steve Smith, who had held the top spot since 2015, in the Test rankings. Dhoni was all in praise of Kohli’s excellence and stated that the Indian skipper is very close to being a legend.

“He (Kohli) is the best and is already very close to being a legend. I am very happy for him because of the way he has batted everywhere and has been there for the team whenever needed. His form in the last few years has been brilliant which keeps taking the team forward. Congrats to him,” said Dhoni, who was in Mumbai to announce a 25 percent stake in sports technology company Run Adam.

Dhoni also cleared the air about the incident that created a buzz on social media during the ODI series against England. Dhoni had sought the ball from the umpires at the conclusion of the third ODI at Headingley which created a speculation of the 37-year-old retiring from international cricket. Speaking of which Dhoni said that he wanted to show the ball to the bowling coach so as to discuss the possibility of reversing (reverse swing) the ball in English conditions.

“Had asked for it (the ball) to see why we were not being able to get enough reverse swing. It is important in ODIs as the opposition is getting it at some point. After 50 overs the ball is useless for the ICC so I had asked for it to show it to the bowling coach (Bharat Arun). I wanted to see what we could do to generate that reverse swing. It (reverse swing) does help after the 40th over in restricting the opposition,” he stated.

Dhoni further praised the Indian bowlers, who managed to pick their seventh consecutive 20-wicket haul (10 wickets in both the innings) in Test matches away from home. He said that to win a Test match it is important for a team to take 20 wickets.

“To win a Test match, it is important to take 20 wickets. It doesn’t matter how you bat, but those 20 wickets can win you the Test match. Our bowlers have done a good job,” Dhoni concluded.

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