MS Dhoni opens up on his bond with Virat Kohli, says ‘We have been playing together…’

The friendship between former Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and India's star batter Virat Kohli is well renowned worldwide. Both players have led India to great cricket victories for years.

Kohli was selected in the Indian cricket team when MS Dhoni was the skipper and India lifted the T20 World Cup 2007. The duo then led India to win the 2013 Champions Trophy and the 2011 World Cup later.

Not only this, even MS Dhoni too played under Kohli's captaincy at the 2017 Champions Trophy and the 2019 World Cup.

Dhoni on Kohli:

Recently, Mahendra Singh Dhoni opened up regarding his bond with Kohli, stating the strong connection he built with Kohli as teammates. Praising Kohli, Dhoni mentioned that the star batter (Kohli) has immense contributions and influence on the game.

"We have been playing together since 2008/09, and while there's an age gap, I don't know whether I would say I'm like an older brother or anything; we've just been colleagues who have played for India for a long time. He has been among the best in world cricket," HT quoted Dhoni as saying at the event.

Kohli took over the captaincy from MS Dhoni in Test cricket in December 2014 and in white-ball formats by 2017.

Kohli-Dhoni bond:

The bond between Kohli and Dhoni is often known as 'Mahirat', and fans have seen how both the players trust each other on and off the field.

Kohli even sought Dhoni's advice as captain, especially for Decision Review System (DRS) calls, as Dhoni's judgments were rarely wrong.

The duo were seen last on the field during the IPL match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Chennai Super Kings in the 2024 edition.

Kohli in 2022 had revealed that Dhoni was the only one to reach out to him personally following the star Indian batter stepped down as Test captain in the same year, reported HT.