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Wanted Virat to ease into Test captaincy – Dhoni
Former India captain MS Dhoni has said his successor Virat Kohli would go on to win more games than he did, and that his team would “rewrite history” and become the most successful India side of all time.
“That’s the kind of potential they have, that’s the kind of experience they have,” Dhoni said in Pune, in the lead up to the ODI series against England, Kohli’s first assignment as full time limited-overs captain. “If it is [about] the numbers, I think Virat and this team will win more games than me in all the formats.”
Since Kohli took over the Test captaincy from Dhoni in January 2015, India won 14 out of 21 games, their lone defeat coming nearly a year and a half ago. During the same period India, under Dhoni, had a patchy ODI record – 15 losses in 33 matches – but did better in T20Is – 15 wins in 23 games. They also made the semi-finals of both the 2015 World Cup and the 2016 World T20.
Kohli, R Ashwin, Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja and Mohammad Shami had played crucial roles in those successes. All of them – apart from Ashwin – are under 30.
“Though they are young, they have played a lot of cricket both in India and outside, and in pressure situations,” Dhoni said. “They have played in knockout tournaments – when it comes to the ODI and the T20 formats – and they have played under pressure. We’ve played a lot of Tests in India but they were not easy Test matches – we played on a lot of turning wickets where the lower order’s contribution was very important.
“The whole pool of players seems to be one that will play cricket in the right spirit, the way it is supposed to be. I think they will do something very special in the coming years. Of course, the period will be slightly longer because they will be together for a long period. So, hopefully, with no injuries or serious problems to the core members of the group, they will do very well.”
Dhoni said he and Kohli had hit it off from the start and praised Kohli for constantly raising the bar for himself.
Dhoni on Kohli: “What’s brilliant is that if I go up to him with 100 ideas, he is comfortable saying no to all of them …” © AFP
“In Indian cricket, we’ve seen more often than not that a lot of cricketers, say, when they get five games and if they are out of the side, they’re always worried about the two games they didn’t get,” Dhoni said. “The best part about Virat is he wanted to improve in whatever chances he got. And that is the reason he is so successful right now.
“If he scores a 60 or 70, he wanted to score a 100. He wanted to be there at the crease when India are chasing. So, I felt that was the key factor for me, and right from the start we have interacted a lot. He has improvised his cricket and his thinking.”
Dhoni said Kohli would find the shorter formats easier as captain. “With more responsibility on him, he’ll keep getting better. My job will be to give him whatever my thoughts are from behind the stumps – reading the batsman, how they’re batting, what their strengths are, how the bowler is bowling.
“What’s brilliant is that if I go up to him with 100 ideas, he is comfortable saying no to all of them because that’s what his responsibility is: to pick and choose what he’s really convinced about. I think that kind of relationship is very important because I shouldn’t feel, ‘Okay, if I am saying something, that should happen’, and he shouldn’t feel as if whatever is coming from my side, has to be implemented.”
As captain, Dhoni hd moved up and down the batting order to suit the team’s interests. He did not think that would change under Kohli’s leadership.
“Because I was the captain, I always felt because it was difficult for newcomers to come and bat at six or seven, I should be the person who takes that added responsibility of playing lower down the order,” he said. “I would’ve preferred batting at four and playing more overs, but felt it was more important to see if somebody else can bat at four and if I can bat at five, and that gives more power to our batting line-up.
“At times, I found individuals can be very rigid. It is very difficult to adjust to that new mindset or change the game the way it is supposed to be played according to the team or that slot. I thought I was somebody who could do that and I was willing to do that for the team. It is the same as of now. If I am supposed to bat at Nos. 4,5,6,7, whatever the demand is for the team’s betterment, I am ready to bat there.”
© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
Source: ESPN Crickinfo