NEW DELHI: India cricket captain Virat Kohli feels that Mahendra Singh Dhoni is indispensable when it comes to limited-overs cricket and that his cricketing acumen is an asset for the team.
Supreme Court appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) chief Vinod Rai has revealed how much Kohli relies on Dhoni’s cricketing brain in the limited overs setup.
Touching upon the issue of the relationship between the current and former India captains, Rai said there is mutual respect and they share an exceptional camaraderie. “Their camaraderie is exceptional with so much mutual respect. Virat respects Dhoni’s cricketing acumen and Dhoni respects what Virat is achieving as a player,” Rai was quoted as saying by PTI on Sunday.
Rai even claimed the Kohli has told CoA that Dhoni, who won the WT20 and ICC World Cup as captain, is irreplaceable. “In fact, Virat has told the CoA why he thinks Dhoni is irreplaceable in the limited overs set up as of now,” he said.
Kohli, became India Test captain in December 2014 when midway through the Australia Test series, Dhoni abruptly announced his retirement from the longest format. Dhoni, however, continues to a mainstay in ODIs and T20Is.
Not only Dhoni’s knowledge but his wicketkeeping skills also make him an asset. “Virat feels that there are no faster pair of gloves than MS Dhoni today. Also, Dhoni’s cricketing mind honed over so many years is an asset for Virat. As far as how many years of cricket is left in him, time and his performance will tell,” he said.