India have gone from strength to strength ever since Virat Kohli took over the baton of the side. Kohli has instilled a sense of aggression and the zeal to win which has done wonders for the current side. However, the current India skipper credited MS Dhoni for his smooth transition.
The talismanic run-scorer replaced Dhoni as Test captain during the 2014-15 tour of Australia and took charge of the limited-overs teams at the start of 2017. Under his leadership, India were at the top of the ICC Rankings in Test for three years. India also registered their first-ever series win down under in 2018 apart from winning various ODI series abroad.
MS Dhoni helped me a lot in becoming the captain: Virat Kohli
In a recent chat with teammate Ravichandran Ashwin, Kohli opened up about his captaincy. Virat Kohli credited MS Dhoni for his elevation and said that the latter observing him for long helped him a lot.
“I think a large portion of me becoming captain was also to do with him (MSD) observing me for a long period of time. It just can’t happen like he goes and selectors say you become captain,” Virat Kohli replied when asked about the process of becoming the leader of the team.
“The guy who is there, he takes responsibility and says okay I think this is the next guy and I will tell you how he is going and then slowly that transition is formed.
“I think he played a big role in that and that trust you have to build over, say six-seven years, it just doesn’t happen overnight,” he added.
Meanwhile, Virat Kohli is yet to win any ICC events and will be desperate to end the barren run. He took India to the finals of the ICC Champions Trophy in 2017 before losing out to arch-rivals Pakistan. In the 2019 World Cup in England, the Men in Blues lost to New Zealand in the rain-marred semifinals. With back-to-back ICC events lined-up, Kohli will be setting his eyes on a global trophy.
