Virat Kohli has revealed what MS Dhoni texted him during the former’s struggles in international cricket.
Team India’s star batter Virat Kohli has been one of the most impressive players in the ongoing T20 World Cup so far. Kohli is currently the highest scorer in the tournament with 246 runs in five innings, scoring at an impressive strike rate of 138.98. The 34-year-old batter has three unbeaten half-centuries to his name in the World Cup so far; all coming in the winning cause. However, it hasn’t been the best of years for Virat Kohli overall.
The batter struggled with form for a major part of the year and even took a break away from the game following the tour of England in July; when he returned to the side in Asia Cup a month later, Kohli had revealed that he didn’t touch his bat throughout the time away from international cricket, and that he realised he “was trying to fake” his intensity. Kohli also opened up in detail about his struggles with mental health throughout the year.
Kohli returned to run-scoring in the Asia Cup and after a game against Pakistan in the tournament, the batter also revealed that the only person who texted him when he left the Test captaincy earlier this year was MS Dhoni. In a podcast recorded for Royal Challengers Bangalore, Kohli has now revealed the text former India captain sent to the batter during the time.
“The only person who genuinely reached out to me was MS Dhoni. For me, that is such a blessing to know that I could have a such a strong bond and relationship with someone who is so senior to me. It’s more like a friendship based on a lot of mutual respect, and that’s one of the things he mentioned in the same message reaching out to me. It was, ‘when you are expected to be strong and looked at as a strong individual, people forget to ask you how you are doing’,” Kohli revealed.
“It hit home to me. I was like, ‘this is it’. I have always been looked at like someone who is very confident, very mentally strong, who can endure any situation and circumstance, find a way and show us the way. Sometimes, what you realise is that at any given time, you really need to take a couple of steps back and understand how you are doing, how your well-being is,” the player further said.
Kohli’s impressive outings in the T20 World Cup were key to India reaching the semi-final of the tournament, where the side faces England on Thursday. The match takes place at the Adelaide Oval; in the other semi-final, Pakistan will take on New Zealand in Syndey.
