Watch: Virat Kohli stirs emotions in a heartfelt tribute to Mahendra Singh Dhoni

New Delhi: Virat Kohli is not someone to undermine contributions of those who made India proud. The Indian Test skipper, who took over from Mahendra Singh Dhoni as Team India’s ODI and Twenty20 skipper after the Jharkhand maverick stepped down from the limited-overs captaincy, heaped lavish praise on his predecessor.

“These are massive shoes to fill, there is no doubt. If you think of MS Dhoni and the first word that comes to mind is captain. You don’t relate MS Dhoni in any other way. For me, he is always going to be my captain because I started my career under him,” Kohli said in an interview to BCCI.TV.

Virat, on Friday, had taken to Twitter to post an emotional and heartfelt message for Dhoni. Kohli said:

Kohli, who was named captain of ICC ODI Team of the Year 2016 and enjoying a brilliant run of form as a Test captain and batsman, will take over as a full-time captain in limited-overs as India take on England in the three-match ODI series and three Twenty20s.

Kohli spoke candidly about Dhoni’s role in his growth as a cricketer.

“He is handing over the leadership to me. Obviously, he will always be my captain. He will always be the person who guided me initially, who gave me opportunity, who gave me ample space and ample time to grow as a cricketer, who saved me from getting dropped from the team many a times,” Kohli said.