Former India skipper Virat Kohli has recently battled a low point in his career after experiencing unprecedented success in the gentlemen’s game. He was recently heard on the podcast hosted by the Bangalore Franchise of the Indian T20 League. “I have experienced a different kind of phase in my career currently. It’s been a while since I felt (this) free in the sense how I felt all these years of playing at any level of cricket,” the 34-year-old stated.
Kohli was vocal about the people who supported him through this difficult phase in his career. “What is interesting is that throughout this phase, apart from Anushka, who has been the biggest source of strength for me because she has been with me throughout this whole time and she has seen me very closely as how have I felt, things that I have gone through, the kind of things that have happened…the only person who, apart from my childhood coach and family…genuinely reached out to me has been MS Dhoni.”
‘Dhoni’s words hit home for me’ – Virat Kohli
He narrated a specific incident where Dhoni explained why appearing too strong can sometimes have repercussions. “He reached out to me, and you can rarely get in touch with him. If I call him on any random day, 99 per cent, he will not pick up (the phone) because he just does not look at the phone. So, for him to reach out to me…twice it has happened now, and one of the things that he’d mentioned in the message while reaching out to me was that: ‘when you are expected to be strong and looked at as a strong individual people forget to ask how are you doing?
“So, it (Dhoni’s words) hit home for me because I have always been looked at as someone who is very confident, mentally very strong, who can endure any circumstances and find a way and show us the way. Sometimes, what you realise is that at any given point of time in life as a human being, you need to take a couple of steps backwards and understand how you are doing, how your well-being is placed.
“So, there are not many places for the people who have played the game for a long period, as strong individuals, they can go and explain in a way that the other person can understand. That’s why I mentioned this particular incident because MS Dhoni knows exactly what is going on; he understands it because he has been there himself.”
Kohli offered the reason for former India and current Chennai captain Dhoni reaching out to him while highlighting that both went through similar life and career phases. “He has experienced what I have experienced right now. So, it is only out of experience, and feeling those feelings in that moment is the only way you can be truly compassionate and understanding towards another individual who is going through the same thing.”
Here’s how fans reacted to Kohli’s emotional statements:
NO1 can match VK-MS bond 🥵🥺
— Praneeth (@fantasy_d11) February 25, 2023
Dhoni ko isliya praise karta haa free mai captaincy jo milgayi thi
— Novascarlet (@Novascarlet5) February 25, 2023
Haan bhai maan gaya, kitni baar yahi bolegea 😭😭
— The_cricket (@The_cricket18) February 25, 2023
Both are Clown one is fixer and another one is chokli 😂
— The Armor (@crazyleader049) February 25, 2023
And some Kohli fans abuse Dhoni for a foreign player Abd 🤢🤢🤡🤡
— DhoniFanRoshan 🦁 (@ItsRoshan124) February 25, 2023
Biggest fan of msdhoni is Virat kohli ❤
— Shamsi (MSH) 🥺😍 (@ShamsiHaidri) February 25, 2023
Ms is better than abcd
— A #HalaMadrid (@Vkholics) February 25, 2023
Thank u Chokli father MSD
— Royal challengers Bangalore (@RCB49tweets) February 25, 2023