Virat Kohli said that Mahendra Singh Dhoni gave him the encouragement that he needed to get to where he is now.
Mumbai: Recently appointed Team India skipper Virat Kohli believes his approach in limited overs cricket, emphasising that his team will always go for the win, no matter what situation they may find themselves in.
Dhoni relinquished his limited overs captaincy of the Indian team earlier this week, leaving natural successor and the then Test skipper Kohli to take over as the captain across all three formats of the game.
The 28-year-old thanked Dhoni in an interview with BCCI.tv, saying that his predecessor gave him the encouragement that he needed to get to where he is now.
“I’m very grateful to MS Dhoni as well, for giving me this opportunity, for thinking that I am worthy of taking the responsibility forward,” said Kohli. “And I’m very grateful for his contribution in the whole process as well. I’ve learnt a lot from him, in terms of leadership, in terms of conducting myself, how to take the team together.”
Kohli believes that Dhoni handled the transition period seamlessly, making it easy for the 28-year-old to come and take over as the skipper.
“It couldn’t have been done in a better way, in such a respectful and a humble way by him. And at the same time, me understanding what the situation is like, and having that respect and that regard for him, I feel really wonderful about this moment,” he said.
“MS has been speaking to me a lot as well, about strategies, about how situations need to be approached,” he continued.
“Because he also understood in his own head that it is important to guide me and to teach me as well, knowing that the kind of legacy that he has set up, its very important for someone to come forward and take it up, and not be in a state of confusion.”
While many great cricketers have been known to wilt under the pressure of captaincy, Virat Kohli seems to be taking up his added responsibility as more of a challenge to make himself a role model for the younger cricketers.
“Added responsibility has always worked for me, in the sense that you have no room to be complacent. I need to firstly make that kind of effort, before asking my teammates to do it,” said Kohli.
Kohli went on to reveal the module that Team India will apply in cricket, with him as the captain. The 28-year-old chalked-out a clear-cut plan, which has a rotation policy.
“The main goal is to identify players who can play in different positions, who can work around the batsmen who have been featuring in the ODI setup for a long time,” he said. “At the same time, giving them ample time to prepare for those events, and not rush them into any plans that they can’t execute.
“We’ll find a group of players that we’ll keep switching around in the squad, you keep switching among those players, and at the same time, the main motivation will be to keep winning games,” Kohli continued. “You can only get confident as a side, if you keep winning.”
However, Kohli believes that despite all the changes in the starting XI, Team India need to keep the winning momentum across all formats of the sport.
“For me, the mindset doesn’t change with the formats. For me, the ultimate goal is to realise that you should win,” he said.
“The style of captaincy, for me, doesn’t change,” he further continued. “I would still like to see the team go for the win from any situation, and try to comeback from different situations every now and then, for us to be a champion side.”
