'He denied a lot of things I suggested' - Virat Kohli reveals how MS Dhoni played a big role in getting captaincy

The Indian team went through a smooth transition when Virat Kohli took over the captaincy from MS Dhoni. The wicketkeeper-batsman had led the Indian team from 2007 and everyone thought it would be difficult to replace him as a captain. However, 2015 started with India having a new Test captain as Dhoni decided to retire from the format.

Soon, Kohli was leading the team quite well and took the side to the no.1 spot in the Test rankings. In late 2016, Dhoni decided to hand over the reins of the ODI and T20I team to Kohli as well. Since then, the Delhi batsman has led the Indian team from the front.

On Saturday, Kohli interacted with Ravichandran Ashwin on the Instagram live session. During their interaction, Kohli revealed that it was Dhoni himself who helped him become a captain. While answering Ashwin’s question on the process of becoming the leader of the team, Kohli explained how he became a leader of the Indian side.

“I think a large portion of me becoming captain was also to do with him (MS Dhoni), observing me for a long period of time. It just can’t happen as he goes and selectors say ‘you become captain’ The guy who is there, he takes responsibility and says okay I think this is the next guy and I will tell you how he is going and then slowly that transition is formed. I think he played a big role in that and that trust you have to build over, say six-seven years, it just doesn’t happen overnight,” Kohli said.

I was always in MS Dhoni’s ears, standing next to him: Virat Kohli

The 31-year-old also explained how the transition in him took place. He pointed out that he would often suggest different things to Dhoni on the field. Kohli also said that his attitude of discussing plans with the captain gave Dhoni the confidence that he has a thing for captaincy.

“I think that is the transition that slowly happens, then with your entry in the game you start talking to the captain regularly. I was always in MS’s (Dhoni) ears, standing next to him, ‘yeh kar sakte ho, woh kar sakte ho (can we try these things), what do you think, he would deny a lot of things but he would discuss a lot of things as well, so he got a lot of confidence that I can do this (captain) after him,” the skipper added.