Asia Cup 2022: When I gave up Test captaincy, I got a message only from Dhoni – Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli opened on his recent struggles with form and how he dealt with all the pressure when he was going through the rut. Kohli revealed that he only got a message from MS Dhoni when he gave up his Test captaincy. It is well known that Kohli shares a special bond with the former Indian captain.

The talisman revealed that a lot of current and former players have his number but none of them contacted him after he relinquished his Test captaincy duties. Kohli decided to quit Test captaincy after India lost the series against South Africa by 2-1 earlier in the year.

The former skipper had given up T20I captaincy after the T20 World Cup in 2021 and then he was sacked as ODI captain as the selectors wanted one leader for the limited-overs formats.

“One thing I can tell you is when I gave up Test captaincy, I got a message from only one person who I’ve played with before – MS Dhoni,” Kohli said in the post-match press conference on Sunday. “A lot of people have my number and a lot of people give suggestions on TV, but among people who have my number, I didn’t get a message from anyone else.

“When there’s respect and a connection with someone, when it’s genuine, it looks like this. Because there’s security at both ends. Neither was I insecure with him [Dhoni] nor was he insecure with me. All I can say is if I want to tell someone something I’ll reach out individually, if the help is needed. If you give a suggestion in front of the whole world, it holds no value for me. If it is something that will improve me then you can do it one-on-one also,” Kohli opined.

“I’ve played for 14 years, it doesn’t happen by chance. My job is to work hard on my game, something that I am always keen to do for the team and something that I continue to do. Everyone’s doing their job eventually, our job is to play the game, work hard, give our 120% and I’ve said it in the past that as long as I am doing that and the team has faith in that, what happens in the change room is the only thing that matters to us, and to me personally,” he said.

“People have their opinions and that’s absolutely fine but that doesn’t change my happiness as a person. I’ve taken some time away, put things in perspective. It’s given me kind of a relaxation that this is not the be-all and end-all of life. I need to enjoy the game, I can’t put so much pressure of expectation on myself, that I am not able to express myself. That is not why I started playing this game.

Meanwhile, Kohli recently took a break from International cricket and revealed that he didn’t even touch his bat for a month. The linchpin added he was able to get the excitement back upon returning to action and lauded the team’s environment.

“I was able to find that excitement back. And when I came here, the environment was very welcoming, the camaraderie with the boys is amazing, the environment in the team is amazing. I am absolutely loving playing at the moment again and I am feeling good with the way I am batting.”

Kohli scored a fine knock of 60 runs off 44 balls against Pakistan and looked at his best during the knock but his efforts went in vain as India lost by five wickets. India will next face Sri Lanka at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Tuesday.