Filling in the large boots of iconic Indian captain MS Dhoni boots was never easy. But, India’s current all-format leader Virat Kohli has done an exceptional job in doing so.
Indian cricket was blessed to have a talismanic leader in Dhoni for a decade. During his tenure as captain, India lifted the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007.
Also, India won the 2011 ODI World Cup and 2013 Champions Trophy under the influential captaincy of Dhoni. Thereby, the Ranchi-born became the only captain to win all three ICC titles.
Further, he also received the Test maze after guiding India to number one rank in the longest format of the game in 2008.
Kohli, since taking over the reins from Dhoni in 2014, took a struggling Indian side in the whites at number seven, to the summit in 2016, thereby, becoming the number one Test team in the world.
Kohli became the only Indian captain to beat the mighty Australians in their own backyard in 2018. He also has several bilateral ODI series and T20I series to his name, both home and away.
During a recent online interaction, Kohli revealed the player instrumental in helping him become an astute leader, and it is none other than Dhoni.
“Becoming captain was not even in my wildest dreams,” Kohli told Ravichandran Ashwin on his Instagram Live show ‘Reminisce with Ash’.
Furthermore, Kohli talked about engaging with Dhoni regarding tactics during the matches.
“I was always in MS’s ears. He would deny a lot of things but discuss a lot also. I think he got a lot of confidence in me and a large part of me becoming captain has to do with him observing me over a long period of time,” added the 31-year old.
Before drawing curtains to his glittering tenure as captain, Dhoni had the additional job of choosing his successor. Kohli, thereafter, had his say on the issue.
“It can’t be that he goes to the selectors and just says, ‘Make this guy captain.’ He has to take responsibility to identify the person and then slowly see how the guy develops. I think he played a big role in that and that trust you have to build over the course of eight or nine years,” concluded Kohli.
