WATCH: Virat Kohli reveals MS Dhoni's exact message during star India batter's rough patch
By Sunita Iyer | First Published Feb 25, 2023, 5:09 PM ISTSpeaking on the RCB Podcast, India's star batter Virat Kohli opened up about what went through his mind during his prolonged rough patch and revealed MS Dhoni's exact message, among other things.
Although legendary Indian skipper MS Dhoni and iconic batter Virat Kohli have quite different personalities in terms of intensity and composure, they share a love of the sport and their country. Both Kohli and Dhoni have a close relationship and have excelled at representing India with pride.
Under Dhoni's direction, Kohli made his all-format debut. From 2008 to 2019, the Indian batter and the 2011 World Cup-winning skipper shared a dressing room. The 41-year-old Ranchi player has frequently supported Kohli and has kept up that support even after retiring from international competition.
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Notably, Kohli was going through a difficult time and had a forgettable 2022. Last year, the 34-year-old Indian Test captain resigned after failing to make an impression as a captain and player. He struggled to recapture his form even after giving up the captaincy, and he was the target of a fierce backlash from cricket fans and commentators. But the right-handed batter didn't give up on himself, and later that year, in the Asia Cup, he made a stunning comeback by smashing his first T20 century against Afghanistan. He has since continued to have that touch in the international arena.
Speaking on the RCB Podcast Season 2 with Danish Sait, Kohli has now disclosed what was MS Dhoni's exact message to him during those trying times and how his wife, Anushka Sharma and his childhood coach supported him through that rough patch.
"What is interesting is that throughout this phase apart from Anushka, who has been the biggest source of strength for me because she has been with me throughout this whole time and she has seen me very closely as how have I felt, things that I have gone through, the kind of things that have happened…the only person who, apart from my childhood coach and family…genuinely reached out to me has been MS Dhoni," said Kohli.
The India star continued by saying that calling Dhoni is nearly difficult and even shared the seasoned player's message.
"He (Dhoni) reached out to me and you can rarely get in touch with him. If I call him on any random day, 99 per cent he will not pick up (the phone), because he just does not look at the phone. So, for him to reach out to me…twice it has happened now and one of the things that he'd mentioned in the message while reaching out to me was that: 'when you are expected to be strong and looked at as a strong individual people forget to ask how are you doing?" added Kohli.
Watch the full episode of RCB Podcast with Virat Kohli below:
He continued, "So, it (Dhoni's words) hit home for me because I have always been looked at as someone who is very confident, mentally very strong, who can endure any circumstances and find a way and show us the way. Sometimes, what you realise is that at any given point of time in life as a human being you need to take a couple of steps backwards, understand how you are doing, how your wellbeing is placed."
"So, there are not many places, for the people who have played the game for a long period, as strong individuals, they can go and explain in a way that the other person can understand. That's why I mentioned this particular incident because MS Dhoni knows exactly what is going on. He understands it because he has been there himself," said Kohli, who has been associated with the Royal Challengers Bangalore IPL franchise since 2008 and captained the team from 2011 until 2021.
By highlighting that they were going through comparable stages in their lives and careers, Kohli explained Dhoni's contact with him.
"He has experienced what I have experienced right now. So, it is only out of the experience, and feeling those feelings in that moment is the only way you can be truly compassionate and understanding towards another individual who is going through the same thing," the star Indian batter added.
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Virat Kohli opens up on his captaincy record in ICC tournaments
On the podcast, Kohli discussed his friendship with Dhoni, his time leading RCB and India, transitioning from captaincy to a senior player role, and his passionate commitment to environmental preservation.
India enjoyed enormous success in all formats during Kohli's time as captain. Under Kohli's direction, the team triumphed in 40 of 68 Tests, 65 of 95 ODIs, and 30 of 50 T20Is. During his captaincy, India enjoyed limited overs success away from home, including historic ODI series victories in Australia and South Africa.
They demonstrated impressive dominance at home while also being competitive away in the longer format. This featured Australia's first-ever series victory in 2018–19.
At the same time, there were negatives, such as not taking home any ICC trophies. Kohli did not, however, criticise himself for his failure. He considered changing the team's culture to be the pinnacle of his leadership. India advanced to the final of the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy, the 2019 ICC Men's Cricket World Cup semifinals, and the 2021 ICC World Test Championship final under Kohli's direction.
"Look you play to win tournaments, and a lot was made of it (India not winning ICC tournaments) to be honest," Kohli said. "We reached the finals of 2017 Champions Trophy, we reached the semis of the World Cup and finals of the Test Championship, and I was considered as a failed captain. I never judged myself from that point of view."
"What we ended up achieving as a team and the cultural change, for me that's always going to be a matter of pride because tournaments happen for a certain period of time but a culture happens over a long period of time, and for that you need consistency, for that you need more character than just winning a tournament," the former Indian skipper added.
In addition to being appreciative of the success he experienced as a player, Kohli thought that discipline and behaviour were two important factors in trophy achievement.
"I won World Cup as a player (2011), I won the Champions Trophy (2013) as a player. I've been part of a team that won five Test maces. If you look at it from that point of view, there have been people who have never won a World Cup," he noted.
"When things are meant to be, things are meant to be. Sachin Tendulkar was playing his sixth World Cup, and that was the one he won. And I was a part of the team for the first time, and we ended up winning the World Cup. So if I had to look at what went wrong with my career, it's very easy to do that, but I look at what's gone right in my career and I'm grateful for that," Kohli added.
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