India's premier batter Virat Kohli shares a great bond with ex-captain MS Dhoni and the fans are aware that the pair has immense respect for each other.
Both cricketers also enjoyed a great camaraderie on the turf and were involved in numerous match-winning partnerships for India. Often in limited-overs cricket, Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni took the opposition by surprise by stealing singles at will.
Late on Thursday night, Virat Kohli posted a snapshot with the two-time World Cup winner and the caption took social media by storm, with several Indian cricket admirers speculating that the 33-year-old superstar could be on the verge of announcing his retirement from the sport.
“Being this man's trusted deputy was the most enjoyable and exciting period in my career. Our partnerships would always be special to me forever. 7+18,” Virat Kohli said on Twitter.
Being this man’s trusted deputy was the most enjoyable and exciting period in my career. Our partnerships would always be special to me forever. 7+18 ❤️ pic.twitter.com/PafGRkMH0Y
— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) August 25, 2022
https://twitter.com/Sidashi10/status/1562865900881346566
Hey King What's Wrong With You??? Are You Ok ? Retirement Vibes ? No No 😭😭😭
— ❤️ 𝐀𝐢𝐟𝐚𝐳 𝐒𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐤𝐡ᵀᴹ 🇮🇳 ❤️ (@Aifaz_Sheikh_) August 25, 2022
Nowadays, I get so scared whenever Virat post something like this. 😐
— Dr. Cric Point 🏏 (@drcricpoint) August 25, 2022
Notably, Dhoni sported jersey number 7 while playing for India and Kohli wore the number 18 representing the national team.
Kohli has often credited Dhoni for grooming him and why not, after all, he is widely regarded as one of the best cricketers ever across all formats.
It was under Dhoni's captaincy that Kohli made his India debut in 2008 and subsequently went on to become the Test captain when the Ranchi-born cricket star stepped down as skipper from the longest format in Australia in 2014.
Dhoni's calming influence was crucial for Virat Kohli during the early days of his career as it was he who taught the Delhi lad to soak up the pressure in crunch situations before unleashing his full array of shots to win several games for India.
Dhoni also played a large part in Kohli's growth as a skipper and was seen seeking his advice on many occasions when the situation looked out of control in the middle.
When the only man to win all three ICC trophies announced his retirement in 2020, Kohli's farewell tribute to his former captain caught everyone's attention as it once again showed the love, admiration, and respect the two shared for each other.
Coming back to the present, Virat Kohli has been going through an extended dry spell with the bat. During the recent tour of England, the former India captain managed to score just 76 runs in his six outings in a Test match, and two ODIs and T20Is each.
While he perished at scores of 11 and 20 in the rescheduled fifth and final Test against the Three Lions in Edgbaston, Virat Kohli was dismissed for 1 and 11 in the T20I games in Birmingham and Trent Bridge.
Though he missed the first clash of the ODI series because of a groin injury, he didn't succeed in changing his fortunes in the remaining two 50-over matches as he registered a total of 33 runs, making 16 and 17 at the Lord's and Old Trafford respectively.
Before that, Virat Kohli had a horror run in the Indian Premier League (IPL) as he could score only 341 runs at a mediocre average of 22.73 in 16 games in the tournament.
Virat Kohli last made a century in any form of international cricket in the historic Pink-ball Test against Bangladesh in November 2019.
Since then, he has gone 78 consecutive knocks without a three-figure score on the international stage.
After his terrible run in England, Virat Kohli was rested for India's tours of the West Indies and Zimbabwe and will be making his return to action on Sunday.
This weekend, Kohli and his teammates will be up against Babar Azam‘s Pakistan in the Asia Cup in Dubai.
The last time India and Pakistan met on a cricket field, it was Azam and his boys who accomplished their first ever win over the Men in Blue in a World Cup, beating them by 10 wickets in the ICC T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) last year.
Ahead of their match against arch-rivals Pakistan on August 28, India vice-captain KL Rahul admitted that their loss to them in 2021 had hurt the team and they would want to make amends this time.
“Yes, obviously. Losing any game in a World Cup always hurts you a little bit. It was our first game of the World Cup last year and we were very excited. Any team that enters the World Cup wants to start well, but unfortunately, that did not happen for us,” KL Rahul said during a press conference in Dubai.
“We were outplayed against a really strong Pakistan team,” he added.
“Yes we get an opportunity to once again play against them, it is a contest we are all looking forward to and we all are eager to go out there. The game starts from zero, there might be history but it does not count for anything. It will always start from zero,” KL Rahul concluded.
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