Virat Kohli Is Learning Captaincy Tricks From MS Dhoni

Virat Kohli took over India’s limited overs captaincy from Mahendra Singh Dhoni just before the start of England’s One-Day International series.

MS Dhoni is like a mentor to Virat Kohli, said the current Indian skipper.

After routing England at home in all three formats of the game, India skipper Virat Kohli said that he is learning the tricks of captaincy from his predecessor Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The Delhi-born said he is benefitting from the immense experience of Dhoni in taking decisions in the limited overs format, which is relatively new for him in terms of leadership. India claimed the Twenty20 International series 2-1 after a comprehensive 75-run win in the third and final game in Bengaluru on Wednesday night.

“Although I have captained in the Test format for a while, ODI and T20 games move very fast. So to take advice from a person (Dhoni) who has captained the side at this level for so long and understands the game really well is never a bad idea in crucial situations,” Kohli said.

The young captain disclosed that he wanted Hardik Pandya to bowl after star-performer Yuzvendra Chahal’s quota was over but was advised by Dhoni and Ashish Nehra to hand the ball to Jasprit Bumrah, who scalped two wickets in three balls to finish the game.

“Bringing on Bumrah right after that over from Chahal, I was thinking of giving (Hardik) Pandya another over instead. (Dhoni and Nehra) suggested that let’s not wait till the 19th over and instead bring on the main bowlers. So these things really help when you are a new captain in the limited-overs format.

“But again, I am not new to captaincy, but there has to be a balance between understanding the skills needed to lead in shorter formats. MS has been helping a lot on that front.”

Kohli said the Indian team, which has many yougsters, has made a very fast progress.

“We got the results we wanted. Obviously winning all three series feels really, really good right now because we’re up against a top-quality side. We understand that and to come on top after the end of all three series is a great feeling altogether knowing that we didn’t have that much experience in our teams.

“The Test team is almost as good as new. Even in the one-day circuit, we have 3-4 experienced guys, but rest of the guys who stepped up are all youngsters, which is, I think, is a massive, massive boost for Indian cricket,” he said.

Kohli said the biggest takeaway for winning all three series for the team was the “youngsters were hungry to win matches for the team instead focusing on individual performances.”

Kohli said wickets in the middle overs by spinner Yajuvendra Chahal made the job easy for them.

“If we don’t get wickets in middle overs any total is chaseable in Bengaluru. No total looks far-fetched and any batting lineup in the world can explode in the end. So, key today was to take wickets in middle overs and Chahal did a good job to take those wickets,” he said.

Kohli also said that England’s batting collapse will not hamper English players’ chances in IPL auction. The visitors lost eight wickets for as many runs to suffer a dramatic slide in the match.

“I don’t think the collapse is going to hamper anyone’s chances of being picked in the IPL. It all depends, which team wants who, who provides better balance to  whichever franchise they could play for. As I said a lot of them are going to be up for grabs. I can assure you that,” he told reporters after the match here at Chinnaswamy stadium.

Unlike earlier years when England players were not available in large numbers at the lucrative IPL auction, the scenario will be different this time, England Captain Eoin Morgan had said at Cuttack recently.

Morgan hoped a lot of English players would be available for the auction and hopefully, they would be picked up and playing the majority of the games.

The auctioning for the 10th edition is scheduled to be held here soon and would be the final one under the 10-year contract. As many as 140 cricketers, including 44 overseas cricketers have been retained by eight IPL franchises.

The window for retention of players closed on December 15 and seven teams except KKR (Kolkata Knight Riders) have retained more than 20 players.

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Virat Kohli In Action During The 2nd Paytm India vs England T20 International At Vidharbha Cricket Association Stadium In Nagpur

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Virat Kohli During The Practice Session Ahead Of The 2nd India vs England T20 International At Jamtha Stadium In Nagpur

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Virat Kohli In Action During The 1st Paytm India vs England T20 International At Green Park In Kanpur

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Virat Kohli Says T20Is Chance For Parvez Rasool to Prove Himself

India captain Virat Kohli said that the three Twenty20 Internationals against England are a chance for Parvez Rasool and Yuzvendra Chahal to establish themselves.

Virat Kohli will be leading the Indian cricket team in the three-match T20I series vs England.

India captain Virat Kohli on Wednesday said that Yuzvendra Chahal and Parvez Rasool have a chance to prove themselves and establish their presence in the three Twenty20 Internationals to be played against England. He feels that the series will provide the perfect opportunity for the duo to establish themselves as “specialists” in the shortest format of the game. A good show by Rasool and Chahal may also lessen the workload on world’s premier spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who along with Ravindra Jadeja, has been rested for the T20Is.

“The guys who have come in have done pretty well in the IPL, in the domestic T20s. The areas they are bowling in are pretty good and are pretty economical. Yuzvendra, everyone has seen his performances, even Rasool played under me at RCB,” Kohli said at the pre-match media conference.

“It is probably a breakthrough series for them. They haven’t played a big series yet so this might be the perfect opportunity to seal their spots as T20 specialist spinners for the future,” Kohli made it clear as to what is there in stake for youngsters.

About Rasool, the skipper said that he has an ability to bowl with the new ball.

“He (Rasool) is pretty confident, he can bowl with the new ball against the most attacking guys. These two guys are very smart about their bowling. I am sure they will able to replicate their domestic success at this level.”

The series is also big break for the likes of Rishabh Pant , Mandeep Singh along with veterans Ashish Nehra and Suresh Raina.

Ask about Raina, who has not played a match for national time since World T20 in March.

“I think he (Raina) still has a lot to offer. He has not played in a while because there have not been too many limited overs series since the World T20. We played a lot of Test matches in between so it seems there is a bit of a gap. We still believe he has enough to contribute in shorter formats. I would say it is a series of opportunities for a lot of guys to seal their spots,” the skipper said.

“Everyone is included in the squad is because we feel that they can contribute. At the end of the day, it is up to the individual (to perform). Hopefully he (Raina) gets back into the groove, he certainly has a lot to offer especially in shorter formats,” he further added.

The skipper made it clear that there is not much room for changing the team composition in the opening game before adding that he can also open the innings just like he has done it for the RCB in the IPL.

“It is quite easy as of now (the team combination). The problem always arises when you don’t have consistency. Starting now we would be able to figure out the best combination after a few games. In the first game, you have a set line-up to start with but if there are consistency issues with a batting position then it becomes difficult , whether you want to replace the guy or stick with him for a few more games,” explained Kohli.

Going forward, Kohli elaborated as to why he would like to open the innings.

“There are all kinds of possibilities. In the IPL, you don’t have many Indian batsmen to choose from because they are spread across the franchisees. Here (in international cricket) you have a lot of options as far as Indian batsmen are concerned.

“We have a lot of options (in batting line-up), which is a very good thing. If need be I can open, it all depends on the balance of the side. I have only opened in one T20 International, may be two but I have experience of opening in the IPL. If need be, I could or I might not. It all depends on the balance of the side,” he stressed.

India were the better team in both Tests and ODIs though the 50-over series was closely fought. Kohli said the team is capable of a lot more than what it has produced this season.

“We would definitely like to extend our run from Test and ODIs to T20s. We want to play more special cricket, play more positive than what we have in the past, not worry about the result too much. In this format we need to go out and show our true potential.”

There is stiff competition for places among the seniors and juniors.

“The squad if you see has been selected like that. We have got quite a few youngsters who want to prove with senior guys in the team. Eventually the idea is groom them enough and then to give them more confidence and have a gradual progress graph for them. It is important to back them enough,” he concluded.

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