Ganguly on Kohli backing Dhoni: The former Indian captain was vocal about the Indian captain supporting the veteran cricketer.
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“It is great when you have that mutual respect. Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni, the respect they have for each other is unbelievable, so it makes my job in the dressing room so much easier,” India Head Coach Ravi Shastri was quoted as saying in a recent interview with former England captain Michael Vaughan for The Telegraph.
Shastri’s words spoke highly of how the two biggest contemporary names in Indian cricket conduct themselves in the Indian dressing room. Despite Dhoni’s lean patch throughout 2018, Kohli was often seen advocating for him in interviews and press conferences.
Perhaps, it is the understanding of Dhoni’s game and skills which made Kohli stand by him during the last year, which was the veteran wicket-keeper batsman’s worst year in ODIs (in terms of number of runs scored).
Former India captain Sourav Ganguly also praised Kohli for standing by his ex-captain’s side in the last year or so. “Both players have played a lot of matches for India with Dhoni currently being the senior most member of the side. Most of all, what has been notified about the relationship is that Kohli has stood by his ex-captain’s side even when he has been under fire for the past year or so,” Ganguly was quoted as saying on India TV.
Quoting Kohli labeling Dhoni as a ‘big player’, Ganguly expressed his admiration for the former for not ‘abandoning’ the 37-year old cricketer despite him not coming out with the needed returns.
“He has time and again stressed that Dhoni is a big player and one of the strengths of his team. Very few captains back their players up to this extent. I admire Kohli for not abandoning Dhoni in the last 15-16 months. This is what makes a great team.
“No team can become great unless there is mutual respect and camaraderie between the big players,” Ganguly added.
