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Having freed-up Dhoni around a ‘win-win situation’, says Kohli
- Updated: January 7, 2017
India’s newly-appointed limited-overs captain Virat Kohli has said having MS Dhoni in the team without the responsibility of leadership will be a “win-win situation” for India and himself. In an interview with the BCCI website the day after he was named captain, Kohli also said he “feels confident” taking charge in the shorter formats, given his understanding of them, and is “excited” to build a team for the 2019 World Cup.
“It’s a win-win situation for the captain coming in to still have Dhoni for his advice, his inputs and his cricketing brain,” he said. “But what I’m most happy about is that he’ll be able to play free cricket and express himself as the aggressive MS Dhoni we knew when he first came into the team. As a player, responsibility can take that away from you. I think it’s time he enjoys his cricket because he has taken so much burden for the country.”
Dhoni had stepped down as India captain on January 4, after a nine-year stint in the role. Kohli had been his long-time vice-captain.
Kohli said he and Dhoni shared a good relationship, and Dhoni had been grooming him for the role of captain. “I’ve learnt a lot from him in terms of leadership and conducting myself. When you think ‘Dhoni’, the first thing that comes to mind is ‘captain’. For me he’s always going to be my captain because I started my career under him. He will always be the guy who guided me, who gave me opportunities, who gave me ample time and space to grow as a cricketer, who saved me from getting dropped many a time.
“There’s a lot of mutual respect between us because he understands that having been given the opportunity, I have actually worked hard on my game and improved the mental side of things. We share a great friendship and I couldn’t be luckier to have him around for his ideas.
“It’s something I’ve been preparing for in my own head, and MS has been talking to me as well about strategies, how to approach situations, etc because he also understood how important it is …
