One often gets the feeling that Virat Kohli believes in the ¡®my way or highway¡¯ theory when it comes to leading the Indian team. He has his ideas and the captain has put it on record time and again that he is not too bothered about what the world is thinking about his style of leadership.
But when it comes to captaincy in limited-overs cricket ¡ª especially in dealing with the nitty-gritties on the field ¡ª Kohli has shown an unbelievable amount of flexibility.
He often allows his former boss Mahendra Singh Dhoni to take over in the crucial stages of a contest as he fields closer to the boundary line so that he can make best use of his superb throwing arm and agility.
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For years, we have got used to the idea of captains fielding within the 30-yard circle in limited-overs cricket. The popular belief is that the skipper, being closer to the action, can marshall his troops easier, asking his bowlers to try the line and length that he wants or make those subtle changes in the field-setting.
But Kohli doesn¡¯t mind breaking traditions. When he took over as the ODI captain in January 2017, there were speculations that things might not be too comfortable with Kohli and Dhoni.
But those were put to rest soon enough; and Kohli, despite facing criticism from time to time for persisting with Dhoni, was adamant that the former skipper would stay on at least till the 2019 World Cup.
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And as we come closer to the showpiece event, it has become clearer that Dhoni is Kohli¡¯s go-to man. Forget the slog overs when Kohli is fielding deep, Dhoni is often seen walking up to the bowler or shouting suggestions or even changing the field within the first 25 overs.
¡°I think the best thing for Virat Kohli is that he is got MS Dhoni as keeper. You can see whenever he is in the deep, MS Dhoni helps him with the field, talks to the bowlers in crucial situations,¡± Gavaskar said at a media conclave.
The legendary opener¡¯s views were echoed by former Tamil Nadu skipper S Badrinath who played for five years with Chennai Super Kings under Dhoni.
¡°I think it comes from the tremendous respect that Kohli has for Dhoni. Very early on, he had said Dhoni is ¡®my captain¡¯ and he stuck to it. The fact that Kohli is an emotional man, he sometimes needs the calmness of Dhoni on the field and it wouldn¡¯t be wrong to say that they complement each other very well,¡± Badrinath told TOI.
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Captains listening to wicketkeepers or taking suggestions from a senior colleague isn¡¯t unheard of ¡ª in fact, Dhoni often spoke to Sachin Tendulkar when he had first become captain. But the Kohli-Dhoni chemistry is quite unique and Badri says that he hasn¡¯t seen this kind of trust in international cricket too much.
¡°Appreciate the chemistry between the both. Both of them share a lot of respect. Their chemistry is going to help us at the World Cup,¡± Gavaskar had said at the conclave.
That chemistry was also evident even when Kohli came into the team as a youngster and was not too wary of giving his skipper, suggestions.
¡°I was always someone who kept talking to him about the game so even when I was really young, before I was made vice-captain, I would give him my suggestions," Kohli had told a cricket magazine in an interview.
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Kohli¡¯s faith in Dhoni also stems from the latter¡¯s ability to deal with crucial situations with the bat. In the first ODI against Australia on Saturday in Hyderabad ¡ª as it was in the series-deciding ODI in Melbourne a month back ¡ª Dhoni walked out at a difficult stage and beautifully anchored the team to victory.
Dhoni¡¯s current role as a middle-order stabilizer instead of a finisher that he used to be earlier on has often been spoken of and it seems that he is coming to his best as the World Cup closes in.
¡°There has been a change in the way he bats, but he is doing just what Kohli wants him to do ¡ª soaking in the pressure in the middle-order,¡± Badri said.
That¡¯s been crucial to the Kohli-Dhoni dynamics and one hopes it carries on for the next few months so that Indian fans have a few more Lord¡¯s balcony moments to cherish on July 14.