“Book Virat Kohli’s ticket and mine for home…”: When Dhoni quit PAK, cricketer shocked by harsh response to Indian manager

Virat Kohli is a legend of the modern era, for his supreme numbers across all formats. It is a title he earned, after overcoming the challenges of the early stages of his career. And a lot of the credit for Kohli’s comeback in the early years goes to captain MS Dhoni, who supported him through it all. Veteran Pakistani cricketer Umar Akmal recalled one of the tough phases of Kohli’s career, before revealing how Dhoni fought hard to ensure he was not dropped from the Indian team.

Speaking to Geo News during the 2024 T20 World Cup, which concluded last month with India as champions, Akmal recalled Pakistan’s tour of India in 2012/13, which remains the last bilateral series between the two neighbouring countries.

Speaking in the context of Kohli’s slump in form during the 2024 T20 World Cup, where he managed to score just 75 runs in the first seven innings, Akmal revealed that the Indian star was going through a similar phase during that series when the then Indian team manager had asked the then captain Dhoni to drop him from the final ODI. Dhoni then asked the manager to appoint Suresh Raina as the captain for the final match and immediately book his and Kohli’s ticket, a response that left Akmal shocked.

Akmal said, “I once had dinner with MS Dhoni. Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh and Shoaib Malik were also there. I used to ask them what they would do when they quit cricket. It was 2013 and we had toured India. We had won that series. Virat Kohli was going through a similar phase. Then the Indian team manager came in and told Dhoni not to play Kohli in the last ODI match. I looked at Dhoni’s face and looked disappointed. He then said, ‘I haven’t been home for six months. Why don’t you book my tickets and Kohli’s tickets? Raina can be captain in the last match.’ I was shocked and kept staring at Dhoni’s face. The manager then said, ‘It’s okay, do whatever you want. You can play Kohli in the last match.’” “I then asked Dhoni why he responded that way, and he explained, ‘Virat is our best batter.’ ‘Why should we bench him if he doesn’t perform in just 3-4 matches?’

Just like Dhoni, Kohli also received support from captain Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid throughout the 2024 T20 World Cup and he repaid the faith with a match-winning 75 off 59 in the final against South Africa last Saturday.