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Virat Kohli dropped a major hint on Mahendra Singh Dhoni's future, stating that Saturday's IPL match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Chennai Super Kings might be the 'last time' the two greats of Indian cricket are seen together on the cricketing field.
RCB and CSK will battle it out for a place in the IPL 2024 play-offs at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Saturday. CSK are placed in 4th position with 14 points from 13 matches. while RCB are seventh with 12 points in as many outings.
Since last year's IPL, speculations have been building around which season could be Dhoni's last as a player in the T20 league.
After sharing the dressing room with Dhoni multiple times over the last 16 years, Kohli hinted that this might also be his final opportunity to play alongside the former India captain.
"For fans to see him (Dhoni) play in any stadium in India is a big thing. Me and him playing again, maybe for the last time, you never know - that is a special thing. We have had some great memories, some great partnerships for India, it's a great occasion for fans to see us together," Kohli said on Jio Cinema.
Talking about him getting criticism for his strike rate in T20 cricket, Kohli gave example of Dhoni, who he says was similarly criticised in his career for taking matches to the final over.
"People used to say the same about Mahi bhai (Mahendra Singh Dhoni). 'Why is he taking the game to 20th over or 50th over?' But how many matches did he finish for India! He's probably the only person who knows what he's doing! And he's finishing the game from there. For me, that's muscle memory. He knows if he takes the match till the last over, he'll win the game.
My mindset was different. I used to think let's finish the game in the 49th over (in ODIs) or 19th over (in T20s). If he was batting with me at the end, then the thinking was different. He will take the game into the last over where the opposition team is shivering in fear."