The former captain can bat more freely feels Virat
Internet Desk: Taking over the ODI captaincy baton from Mahendra Singh and becoming the Indian Cricket team captain in all formats skipper Virat Kohli heaped praises on his predecessor. During the press conference ahead of the first ODI against England on Sunday in Pune, Kohli said Dhoni is the most intelligent cricketer around and will specially consult him when it comes to using the Decision Review System (DRS).
Kohli also said he will not hesitate to take advice from the former skipper whenever he finds himself in a quandary during the course of the game. Dhoni will be playing under Kohli for the first time as a pure wicket-keeper batsman and Kohli reckons it will ease the pressure off the former skipper. “I think he will bat with a lot more freedom and assurance. He won’t think twice about attempting a big shot,” Kohli said.
India are ranked third in the ICC ODI Championship, and after this series do not play any more ODIs before the Champions Trophy in June, where Kohli will hope to defend the title. He echoed coach Anil Kumble’s view that India will not be experimenting with considering the Champions Trophy is a few months away.
After reaching the semi-finals of the 2015 World Cup, India haven’t had the best of outings in the 50-over format, losing ODI series to Bangladesh (away), South Africa (home) and (Australia). The only convincible series win came against New Zealand (3-2) in November last year.
Kohli feels inclusion of Yuvraj Singh into the team is merely considering the domestic form and he wants to use the experience of Yuvraj and Dhoni in the team and allow them to play freely.