The special bond between former captains Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni needs no introductions. MS Dhoni has played a crucial role in the growth of Virat Kohli as a player and a leader. Kohli also has immense respect for the World Cup-winning captain who mentored him from a very young age.
Virat Kohli pays tribute to MS Dhoni
Virat Kohli recently celebrated 14 years in International cricket and made a social media post in which he spoke about the “most enjoyable and exciting period” of his career. Kohli said that this was the time he spent as deputy to MS Dhoni in the Indian team.
The 33-year-old star batter was a long-time vice-captain to Dhoni in all formats before taking over as Test skipper in 2014 and the overall captaincy in 2017. “Being this man’s trusted deputy was the most enjoyable and exciting period in my career. Our partnerships would always be special to me forever. 7+18,” said Kohli in the post with a photo of him raising his bat with Dhoni in the background during a match. The “7+18” refers to Dhoni’s jersey No.7 and Kohli’s No.18, which added up comes to 25, the date on Thursday.
Being this man’s trusted deputy was the most enjoyable and exciting period in my career. Our partnerships would always be special to me forever. 7+18 ❤️ pic.twitter.com/PafGRkMH0Y
— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) August 25, 2022
Kohli and Dhoni have shared a number of memorable partnerships during their time together in international colours. The picture he shared is from the 2016 T20 World Cup game against Australia in Mohali, where Kohli had famously scored an incredible unbeaten 82 off just 51 deliveries to take India to a six-wicket victory.
Kohli is looking to regain the kind of form that led to him being recognised as the best batter in the world across formats, especially between 2016 and 2019. He has scored 27 Test centuries and 43 ODI tons but hasn’t reached the three-figure mark since November 2019. Moreover, Kohli’s plummeting strike rate in T20 cricket has led to questions over whether he should be included in the Indian team for the T20 World Cup later this year.
Highlights:
• Virat Kohli shared a special tribute post for MS Dhoni on Thursday.
• Kohli says being the deputy to Dhoni was his most enjoyable moment.
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