Virat wants Dhoni to bat higher up the order and express more freely

New Delhi: Virat Kohli was appointed as the captain to lead the Indian side on Wednesday. Having already led the Test side since 2014, Kohli has been named as the captain of the shorter formats after MS Dhoni decided to step down. 

In an Interview to BCCI.tv, India’s skipper shared light on his transition as player.

“I didn’t realize myself when this transition happened, from starting off as a player just wanting to play for India and now having the responsibility to be captain in all three formats,” he said, “For every child it is a dream to just play for the country and this is the biggest day of my life.”

Kohli expressed gratitude towards MS Dhoni, the out going captain under whom Virat initially started his career as a youngster. 

The 28-year-old feels MS Dhoni should play up the order and express himself freely.  “Obviously on the field I would be running to him a lot. I would want him to totally enjoy his cricket now. The team would be in a very solid place if MS Dhoni enjoys his cricket.”

Virat believes “Added responsibility has always worked for me in the sense that you have no room to be complacent or relax at any stage. Even in the IPL, it’s very easy to throw my wicket away after crossing 60 or 70 runs. But I push after that because I realise that as captain I have to set an example and I have to firstly make that kind of effort before asking my team mates to do it.”

With 30 months left for the World Cup in 2019, India’s skipper Virat Kohli has ample of time to set the perfect combination to represent the country on such big occasion. 

“Just hearing about the World Cup gives me Goosebumps, I have played one and I have played couple of T20 World Cups but to play the World Cup for India as the captain will be the biggest achievement of my life. It’s gradual process we have a young team which one captain would like to lead, it’s a wonderful phase for Indian cricket. Youngsters have a brilliant opportunity to seal their spot for the occasion. We are figuring out the best combinations, the main goal is to identify players who can play in different positions.”