Virat Kohli MS Dhoni: '99 per cent time he will not pick up phone' Ahead of IPL 2023, Kohli reveals HOW CSK skipper MSD reached out to him

Virat Kohli MS Dhoni – IPL 2023: Indian cricket fans are well aware of the close relationship Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Virat Kohli have. However, what drives the partnership forward both on and off the field between the cricket giants of India is heartwarming. Ahead of IPL 2023, Kohli opened up about the bond he share with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper. Despite not picking up his call 99 percentage of time, MSD reached out to Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) star batter Kohli when he was going through a tough phase. Follow InsideSport.IN for LIVE updates about Indian Premier League 2023.

While speaking on the RCB Podcast Season 2, the first of the 10 episodes, Kohli shared some insights into the working points of his kinship with Dhoni.

“I have experienced a different kind of phase in my career currently. It’s been a while since I felt (this) free in the sense how I felt all these years of playing at any level of cricket,” said Virat Kohli on RCB Season 2 Podcast.

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Virat Kohli MS Dhoni: ’99 per cent time he will not pick up phone’ Ahead of IPL 2023, Kohli reveals HOW only ‘unreachable’ CSK skipper MSD ‘genuinely reached’ out to him

In a 15-year career, Kohli has represented India in 106 Tests, 271 ODIs, and 115 T20Is, amassing over 25000 runs at the international level.

“What is interesting is that throughout this phase apart from Anushka, who has been the biggest source of strength for me because she has been with me throughout this whole time and she has seen me very closely as how have I felt, things that I have gone through, the kind of things that have happened…the only person who, apart from my childhood coach and family…genuinely reached out to me has been MS Dhoni.”

Dhoni and Kohli shared dressing room for 11 years while they were both members of Team India between 2008 and 2019.

“He reached out to me and you can rarely get in touch with him. If I call him on any random day, 99 per cent he will not pick up (the phone), because he just does not look at the phone. So, for him to reach out to me…twice it has happened now and one of the things that he’d mentioned in the message while reaching out to me was that: ‘when you are expected to be strong and looked at as a strong individual people forget to ask how are you doing?,” Kohli said.

Virat Kohli MS Dhoni: ’99 per cent time he will not pick up phone’ Ahead of IPL 2023, Kohli reveals HOW only ‘unreachable’ CSK skipper MSD ‘genuinely reached’ out to him

Since joining the Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2008, Virat Kohli has served as the team’s captain, serving in that capacity until 2021.

He further added, “So, it (Dhoni’s words) hit home for me because I have always been looked at as someone who is very confident, mentally very strong, who can endure any circumstances and find a way and show us the way. Sometimes, what you realise is that at any given point of time in life as a human being you need to take a couple of steps backwards, understand how you are doing, how your wellbeing is placed.”

“So, there are not many places, for the people who have played the game for a long period, as strong individuals, they can go and explain in a way that the other person can understand. That’s why I mentioned this particular incident because MS Dhoni knows exactly what is going on, he understands it because he has been there himself.”

By highlighting the fact that they were going through comparable stages in their lives and careers, Kohli provided a detailed POV of Dhoni’s bond with him.

“He has experienced what I have experienced right now. So, it is only out of the experience, and feeling those feelings in that moment is the only way you can be truly compassionate and understanding towards another individual who is going through the same thing,” he added.

On the podcast, Kohli discussed his friendship with Dhoni as well as his time leading RCB and India, transitioning from captaincy to a senior player role, and his passionate commitment to environmental preservation.