As IPL 2024 kicks off in Chennai on Friday with a high-profile clash between champions Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore, all eyes will be on the two superstars of Indian cricket -- Virat Kohli and Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
Even though they play for two fierce rivals in the IPL, Kohli and Dhoni have never let the cricketing battles get in their way of their friendship.
Kohli and Dhoni have been dear friends -- a close bonding which developed during their years of playing together for the Indian team.
He also revealed how Dhoni was the 'only one who genuinely reached out to me' during his tough times in 2022 when he struggled for runs and also gave up the Test captaincy.
'I can tell you one thing. And that is when I left Test captaincy, I got a message from only one person with whom I had played earlier, and that is M S Dhoni. This is when many people had my number,' Kohli said in September 2022.
'So the thing is, when there is respect, when you have a connection such as this, it shows, because there is security both ways. I don't want anything from him and neither does he. I have never been insecure of him and neither has he.'
Kohli shared the dressing room with Dhoni for 11 years between 2008 and 2019. He says Dhoni, who rarely uses his phone, called him twice during his tough times and shared some important messages.
'He reached out to me and you can rarely get in touch with him. If I call him on any random day, 99 percent he will not pick up (the phone), because he just does not look at the phone.'
'So, for him to reach out to me... twice it has happened now and one of the things that he'd mentioned in the message while reaching out to me was that: When you are expected to be strong and looked at as a strong individual people forget to ask how you are doing.'
