Bhubaneswar: After India’s 5-wicket loss to Pakistan in their Asia Cup 2022 Super Four match, Virat Kohli sent social media into a frenzy by claiming that none barring MS Dhoni, got in touch with him after he quit Test captaincy earlier this year.
Virat was replying to a query during a press conference on Sunday on whether he received support from anyone in the cricket fraternity when he was going extended lean patch across all formats of the game before his return to Asia Cup. He had so far maintained a stoic silence on his decision to step down and had kept away from the media.
“When I left Test captaincy, I got a message from only one person, with whom I played in the past. It was MS Dhoni. A lot of people have my number, a lot of people give me suggestions, a lot of people talk about my game on TV. But out of those people who had my number, I didn’t get a message from anyone else barring Dhoni,” Kohli said.
“The respect and connection with him (MS Dhoni) is genuine… neither he is insecure about me, nor I am insecure about him…,” he added.
#WATCH | When I left Test captaincy, only MS Dhoni messaged me. A lot of people have my number, but no one messaged me. The respect and connection with him (MS Dhoni) is genuine… neither he is insecure about me, nor I am insecure about him…: Virat Kohli, Indian cricketer pic.twitter.com/kSTqAdfzs5
— ANI (@ANI) September 4, 2022
Kohli was sacked as India’s ODI captain soon after he gave up T20I captaincy. He stepped down as Test captain after India lost a 3-match Test series in South Africa in January 2022.
He had expressed his frustration over “lack of communication” when he was sacked as ODI captain.
Kohli also some strong words of support for young pacer Arshdeep Singh, who had dropped a crucial catch in the 18th over of the match. “Even when I played my first game against Pakistan in Champions Trophy, I played a bad shot and got out. I felt that it was the end of the road for me. Anyone can make mistakes under pressure. The team environment is great right now, credit for this goes to management and captain. So one must accept his mistake, address it and look forward to being in that pressure situation once again,” he added.
💬💬 “We have a healthy team environment and I’d like to give credit to the Captain and team management for the same,” @imVkohli on the team morale 👍#AsiaCup2022 pic.twitter.com/nvJ3jA3kNs
— BCCI (@BCCI) September 5, 2022
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