The excitement among fans to see Virat Kohli back in action is on cloud 9 as the former Indian skipper gears up for the upcoming Asia Cup 2022, starting Saturday. A day later, India will begin their campaign in Dubai against arch-rivals Pakistan which will mark Kohli’s return to the field after more than a month-long break. He has begun training in the UAE and was seen batting in great rhythm in the nets.
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But on Thursday, Kohli had an emotional moment as he shared a heartfelt post on Instagram for former India captain and legendary wicketkeeper-batter MS Dhoni. The 33-year-old spoke about the ‘most enjoyable and exciting period’ of his career; the time he spent as deputy to Dhoni in the Indian team.
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“Being this man’s trusted deputy was the most enjoyable and exciting period in my career. Our partnerships would always be special to me forever. 7+18,” said Kohli in the post with a photo of him raising his bat with Dhoni in the background during a match.
Kohli served as vice-captain in Dhoni’s for quite a long time before taking over Test captaincy in 2014. The former continued being the deputy in the shite-ball formats until he became the skipper across formats in 2017.
The dup of Kohli and Dhoni had forged several match-winning partnerships for India in the past. The picture shared on Instagram is from the 2016 T20 World Cup semi-final game against Australia in Mohali, in which Kohli had famously scored a match-winning 82 not-out off just 51 deliveries, handing India a 6-wicket win.
The game against Pakistan on Sunday will mark Kohli’s 100th T20 international and a chance for the batting great to emerge from his prolonged slump before the World Cup. He has been under fire for his massive slump. The ace Indian batter hasn’t scored a century across formats since November 2019 and questions are being raised over his place in the shortest format now.
Asia Cup 2022 provides him with a big opportunity to get back to his old self. He was part of India’s squad for the England tour where his highest score across formats was 20 in the second innings of rescheduled Edgbaston Test.
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