Dhoni saved Kohli from getting dropped from Team India

India needs a team which cannot only play freely but also make sure that they beat their opposition on any given day, in any part of the world.

MS Dhoni’s biggest gamble gave India cricket’s highest honour when he chose to promote himself up the order against Sri Lanka in the finals of the 2011 Cricket World Cup.

Always my captain The admiration Kohli has for Dhoni goes beyond words, the connect is something deep. At that point, Kohli had played 32 Tests.

“Ashley follows cricket very closely and many a times, he brings to the table what Mahendra Singh Dhoni would do with his cricket team”.

“I was told a day before that MS is not going to play… and I’m going to captain the country; it was quite surprising for me because, in my head, I was still finding my feet in Test cricket”.

Before Christmas, Kohli amassed 655 runs at an impressive average of 109.16 to lead India to a 4-0 series victory over England, who return to the subcontinent for three ODIs and three T20Is.

The favourite pastime of the Ranchi Rays players happens to be playing cricket and trying to emulate Dhoni’s famous helicopter shot.

Gary Kirsten has closely seen Dhoni from his early captaincy days to the magnificent highs of lifting the 2011 World Cup.

Dhoni’s position as skipper came under threat after India lost to the West Indies in the semi-finals of last year’s World Twenty20, despite being overwhelming favourites as hosts of the tournament. That would have enabled better preparation for the future.

It’s a well known fact that veteran Indian cricketers Ravi Shastri and Sourav Ganguly share a volatile relationship. “Both on and off the field, he can play a big role in mentoring Virat”.

“Most of us started playing cricket when we were five”.

In case you didn’t know. “And at the same time, me understanding what the situation is like, and having that respect and that regard for him, I feel really wonderful about this moment”, he said. “You can only get confident as a side, if you keep winning”.

“Added responsibility has always worked for me, in the sense that you have no room to be complacent”. “History will remember him as India’s most successful captain. It works beautifully for me”.