Virat Kohli reveals that MS Dhoni does not pick up his calls

Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni are diametrically opposed. Kohli makes no attempts to disguise his anger, in fact, that’s what keeps him going in the worst of conditions. Kohli has become linked with aggression, intensity, and adrenaline. Dhoni, on the other hand, simply by being there, instils a sense of serenity. Even when the rub of the green isn’t going his way, it’s nearly hard to see behind those thick spectacles and grim expressions. Yet, as captains and players, they have done historic things for Indian cricket. Perhaps this is the most important factor in their friendship.

“I have experienced a different kind of phase in my career currently. It’s been a while since I felt (this) free in the sense of how I felt all these years of playing at any level of cricket,” said Kohli. “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 to 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.”

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Kohli also reveals that MSD himself reached out to him

“He 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?’ Kohli has played 106 Tests, 271 ODIs, and 115 T20Is for India throughout his 15-year career. He just became the quickest player in history to amass 25000 international runs in 549 innings, surpassing Sachin Tendulkar.

Kohli offered the reason for Dhoni reaching out to him, “He has experienced what I have experienced right now. So, it is only out of the experience, and feeling those feelings at that moment is the only way you can be truly compassionate and understanding towards another individual who is going through the same thing.” Kohli has found his lost touch in ODIs and T20Is, amassing a plethora of runs since the second half of 2022, but he has yet to record a significant score in red-ball cricket. In the second Test against Australia, he appeared to be in total control, but he was out due to a questionable decision. He hopes to make apologies in the third Test, which begins on March 1 in Indore. Virat Kohli’s association with the Royal Challengers Bangalore started in 2008 and became the team’s captain in 2011 until he stepped away from the role in 2021.