Virat Kohli seems to have found his rhythm, as he scored an almost fluent 60 to take India to a par total against Pakistan in Super 4 of the Asia Cup. But Kohli revealed that only MS Dhoni checked upon him when he was going through the leanest patch of his career.

Kohli had announced his decision to quit T20I captaincy ahead of the last year’s T20I World Cup, then lost his ODI Captaincy to Rohit Sharma, before stepping down as a Test skipper after a series loss to South Africa. He said only MS Dhoni texted him while others – his colleagues, former cricketers, and experts- kept voicing their opinion in public. 

“When I left Test captaincy then one person messaged me was MS Dhoni,” said Kohli, after top-scoring for India in Dubai. “No one else even though they have my number. Neither he wants anything from me and nor I want anything from him. If there is a genuine connection, it is reflected this way. We were not insecure of each other. People give a lot of suggestions publicly.”

Although Virat Kohli is yet to reach the triple-figure mark in close to three years, there have been numerous glimpses of the good old days in the ongoing Asia Cup. After failing to score anything substantial in the opening clash, Kohli registered an unbeaten 59 against Hong Kong, and was the glue that kept the Indian innings from falling apart last night. 

Kohli also added that he doesn’t see any value in public suggestions from ex-cricketers. If I want to say something to someone, I would reach out individually. If one does want me to improve, he can talk to me one on one. But if you want to give me suggestions publicly, I do not hold value to it,” he said.

Kohli highlighted the importance of taking a break when things were going north for him. “It’s not bad to take a break and I hope this gives people strength and are able to address their feelings,” Kohli reiterated. “Anybody can have such feelings but it’s important to recognize and take care of it.”

As far as the match is concerned, India failed to defend a target of 182 runs to succumb to their first defeat of the Asia Cup. From Pakistan, Mohammad Rizwan scored a brilliant half-century, but it was Mohammad Nawaz’s blitzkrieg that turned the game on its head.

Lead Image: ICC