Imagine the scene a few years ago. For a third-world country like India, the game of cricket was a relief to the people. The Indian citizens were emotionally connected to the game and a major reason for this was one name – Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar. For the entire duration of his career, every Indian family of 3 was 4 and every family of 4 was 5. Reason – Sachin Tendulkar was a household name. And a few years ago, India felt the same sorrow one felt when he/she loses a family member as Sachin Tendulkar was at the end of his playing career.
And two men made sure that the above-said feeling never actually happened. Virat Kohli and Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Although both these may not be as emotionally connected to us as Sachin, these Virat and MS have definitely never made us feel the absence of Tendulkar.
However, one of these two, MS Dhoni is now in the final stages of his career. He is probably playing in his final tournament for India and with his retirement, the joy we had of watching two incredible sportsmen play together would soon vanish.
MS is a senior to Virat Kohli in the Indian team and the Jharkhand wicket-keeper has been instrumental in Virat’s rise to the cusp of batsmanship. Virat Kohli was also a perfect successor to Dhoni as the captain of the Indian team. The duo has strategized India to many wins in the last few years and as this camaraderie is coming to an end, here is what the RCB skipper had to say about the CSK captain.
The decisions that have been taken by Virat & MS together on the field has always been successful and never in the history of the game have two minds worked so coherently to gain victories for their team. Speaking about the same, Virat said,
“There has never been a moment that I want to get up there, or I don’t want anyone to give their advice. For me, if I trust someone, believe in someone I would do anything for them. From that point of view, there is trust, there is no explanation required between Mahi and me, as we both know that our priority is Indian cricket and we would do anything for the team. The main reason why Mahi and my relationship is so strong.”
This is Virat’s first assignment as a captain in a World Cup and the partnership of MS & Virat is vital for the country. Asserting the same, the current Indian captain said,
“From the captaincy point of view, this World Cup is different in my mind. In the 2015 world cup, I was an experienced player, and in 2011 when we won I was the youngest; it’s a different feeling altogether,”
Finally, it is pure bliss to watch both these legends appear together on or off the field. Although multiple fan wars have taken place between the supporters of both these legends, it is always interesting to find out the opinion both these players have on each other. At this moment, Virat said,
“MS Dhoni is the man who gave me the opportunity to open the innings first time in my career, I can’t explain the respect I have for him in words. For me, he will always be ‘My Captain’ because I started my career under him.”
It is indeed a pleasure that these two heavyweights of the game share a mutual respect for each other which has helped India on numerous occasions in the past. We can only wish that this camaraderie would click at the World Cup and help India bring home a trophy.
