Only MS Dhoni messaged me during my low phase says, Virat Kohli
After a Nail biting finish from the India Vs Pakistan match where Pakistan beat India by 5 wickets moving one step closer to the final of Asia Cup 2022. Virat Kohli stood out on top with his magnificent half-century which helped India to set up a decent target to defend.
Virat Kohli after taking some time off is back in form with two Half-centuries in three matches, Yesterday against Pakistan he scored 60 runs in 44 balls with a strike rate of 136.36.
After suffering the defeat at the hands of Pakistan, Virat Kohli during the post-match press conference was seen emotional talking about the mental support given by former Indian Captain MS Dhoni, during the low phases of his life.
Before the Asia Cup started Kohli in an Interview with Star Sports talked about his struggles and now when asked by Journalists regarding his state of mind during tough times, Kohli replied by saying “I can tell you one thing: when I left Test captaincy, I got a message from only one person, with whom I have played previously — that was MS Dhoni, Many people have my number. On TV, lots of people give suggestions, people have a lot to say, but whoever had my number, no one sent me a message.”
When Virat Kohli played for India, MS Dhoni was the captain of the Indian team and when Dhoni retried from Captaincy Virat Kohli took over as the Captain of the Indian team in all the formats, so, understandably, Kohli would have a strong bonding with former skipper MS Dhoni.
Kohli further went on to say “That respect, that connection you have with anyone, when it is genuine, it shows in this fashion because there is security at both ends. Neither does he (Dhoni) need anything from me, nor do I need anything from him, and neither was he insecure from me nor I was insecure from him. I can only say — if I want to say anything to anyone, I reach out to that person individually even if you want to help me.”
“I mean, if you give the suggestions in front of the world, it has no value for me. If it is for my improvement you could talk with me one-on-one that I genuinely want you to do well. I live life with a lot of honesty, so I see such things. I am not saying that it doesn’t matter to me, but you see the real thing. I can only say that. When you play for such a long time, when you play with honesty, who gives is the almighty? Until I play, until I am worthy of playing, I will play like this only.”
When talking about the motivation behind his success, Kohli said “That drive and purity for the game that joy dissipates. It was important to rediscover that again for me. When I’m happy in my space, then I know what I can do for the team. Me being in a bad space is neither good for the team nor me. I think no one should run away from this, if someone is feeling negative or low, taking a break isn’t a bad thing.
“And I hope people will derive strength from that and address whatever they are feeling. We’re all human, everyone can feel this way. But to recognize that and care about it is important. If you ignore it, you will get more frustrated. This is something I realized and I got a lot of help. I’m happy, I’m excited and having fun playing cricket again, which was the most important thing for me.”
It’s always good to talk with people who are going through a difficult period, it creates a sense of togetherness, which helps people to overcome their depression or difficult days. This MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli incident can be used as an example for others to support each other in difficult and happy times.
