I was always MS Dhoniâs right-hand man, reveals Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli has claimed that he was always Virat Kohli's right-hand man
|(BCCI)
Virat Kohli has revealed that MS Dhoni took him under his wings in 2012 and groomed the star batter to take over the captaincy. Kohli further added that he always served as Dhoniâs right-hand man in the field by giving a lot of inputs regarding match situations or suggesting tactics to execute.
India has seen the transition in captaincy from MS Dhoni to Virat Kohli and then Rohit Sharma over the past decade. While MS Dhoni was an astute tactician of the sport, Kohli brought around a transformation in red-ball cricket for India by leading them to success in foreign land. Kohli shared the dressing room with Dhoni from 2008 to 2019 and when the latter stepped down from the leadership duties, Indiaâs star batter was passed the baton to anchor the ship.Â
Reflecting on his journey of landing the captaincy role, Kohli revealed that he was always Dhoniâs right-hand man and the former Indian wicketkeeper took him under his wings since 2012 for the preparation of the role.Â
âWith me and MS there was never a question of any awkwardness in that whole period. The reality of the situation is MS choose me,â said Kohli
âHe kind of took me under his wings, and since 2012 he kind of groomed me as a guy who is going to take over the captaincy from him. I was his vice-captain. I was always having conversations with him about what we can do in the field. I was always his right-hand man. I was always there understanding the game and I also got confidence because I was playing a lot of match-winning knocks for the team,â Kohli stated on RCB podcasts season 2. .
Kohli has always shown his involvement in the field by wearing his emotions on his sleeves and taking part in the decisions taken by the leadership group. While Dhoni was the skipper of the Indian team, the star batter was seen giving his input on a few occasions. Kohli also elaborates on the point by saying that he always assisted his captain in deciding the next move of the game.Â
âI was also giving him a lot of input in the field. I was never someone who was just standing there fielding and throwing the ball back. I always used to go to him when the game was tight. I was always with the feel of the game. I was never really only looking at the scoreboard .. oh these many runs and these many runs. I was more into whatâs the pitch doing and whatâs the conditions are like, what can we do to break the partnership.. all those kind of things. He understood that very early,â he explained.Â
