Indian batting legend Virat Kohli has often spoken about his admiration for Mahendra Singh Dhoni. It was under MSD’s leadership that Kohli flourished and became one of the India’s biggest match winners. And when Dhoni decided to give up captaincy, it was Kohli who became his successor.
Dhoni retired from Test cricket midway through the Australia tour in 2014-15. He then stepped down as limited-overs captain in early 2017, allowing Kohli enough time to build a squad for the 2019 ODI World Cup. In an interaction on bcci.tv in June 2021, the latter opened up about a special gesture from the Ranchi legend after he had taken over as India’s white-ball captain.
Team India went 2-0 up against England in an ODI series in 2017, in what was Kohli‘s first one-day series as full-time captain. The second match was played in Cuttack, which the Men in Blue won by 15 runs on the back of Yuvraj Singh’s 150 and Dhoni’s 134. Revisiting the latter’s special gesture after the game, Kohli said:
Before the triumph in Cuttack, India had beaten England by three wickets in the first ODI. Kohli (122 off 105) and Kedar Jadhav (120 off 76) starred in a chase of 351 as the Men in Blue got over the line by three wickets in 48.1 overs. India lost the third ODI by five runs. Chasing 322, they were held to 316-9 as Jadhav smashed a valiant 90 off 75 balls.
Kohli led India in 95 one-dayers out of which the Men in Blue won 65 matches and lost 27. One match ended in a tie, while two games produced no result. The 36-year-old ended his captaincy stint in the format with a win percentage of 68.42. India, however, did not win an ICC event under his tenure.
Dhoni led India in exactly 200 ODIs, winning 110 and losing 74, while five matches ended in a tie and 11 produced no result. The 43-year-old ended his stint with a win percentage of 55. However, under him the Men in Blue won the 2011 World Cup as well as the 2013 Champions Trophy.
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