[Watch] Kohli Salutes Dhoni, Says ‘You Will Always Be My Captain’

Current India captain Virat Kohli saluted Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who announced his retirement from international cricket on Saturday, by saying that the latter will always be his captain.

“You will always be my captain,” Kohli said in a nearly minute-long video posted on the BCCI’s official Twitter handle, and expressed his gratitude for the “friendship and belief” that he got from his talismanic senior.

Kohli said Dhoni’s retirement is one of the rare moments in his life when he doesn’t have enough words to express his thoughts.

“Words fall short a lot of times in life and I think this is one of those moments. All I can say is that you will always be that guy who sat in the last seat of the bus,” Kohli said.

Kohli made his ODI and Test debut under Dhoni’s captaincy in 2008 and 2011, respectively.

When Kohli was promoted to the ‘hot seat’ after establishing himself as the world’s leading batsman, he formed a great rapport with senior pro Dhoni and consulted him every step of the way. Their mutual respect helped Team India benefit.

“We have shared a great camaraderie, friendship, understanding because we have always played for the same roles, same goals, which was to make the team win,” Kohli said.

“It’s been a pleasure playing under you, alongside you. You showed belief in me, which I would always be grateful for. I have said it before, I will say it again, you will always be my captain,” he signed off.