John Wright hails MS Dhoni's 'awareness', concedes Kohli has 'big shoes to fill'

What’s the story?

Former Indian coach John Wright spoke about Virat Kohli succeeding MS Dhoni as captain in all three formats, heaping praise on Dhoni’s tremendous leadership abilities and game awareness, and how Kohli will have “big shoes to fill”.

While speaking to DNA about India’s newest T20I skipper, Wright said: "Virat has the right people around the team. Hope he will leave a little better when he finishes than when he found it”.

In case you didn’t know...

A successful partnership of Sourav Ganguly and John Wright helped the Indian team wade through tough waters in the early 2000s. A mixture of youth and experience, as the team was, it needed a guiding hand to chart its course for the future.

From 2000-2005, the Wright-Ganguly association formed the backbone of the Indian team, helping the side reach the 2003 World Cup final, apart from the NatWest and Champions Trophy wins of 2002, and memorable wins in Pakistan, England and Australia.

The heart of the matter

Arguably India’s greatest captain ever, MS Dhoni, relinquished captaincy for the younger Kohli to take over in all three formats. Without the added responsibility of captaincy, the 35-year old will be free to play his natural game, said Wright. He recalled the time when Dhoni first caught the world’s eye, scoring a whirlwind 148 against Pakistan that made even Virender Sehwag look pedestrian. Wright also marvelled at Dhoni’s great game awareness, and the sense of timing that comes with his decision-making.

Speaking on his successor, Kohli, Wright was quick to state that the 28-year old has huge shoes to fill, but he has got a wonderful start. He also lauded the Delhi-lad for the tremendous importance that he gives to fitness, and felt happy that he had a strong support system in place with head coach Anil Kumble and Rahul Dravid at the ‘A’ level to help him out.

What’s next?

The Indian team, now under Kohli’s tutelage in all formats, has an imminent series against Australia, right before the Champions Trophy in June. Dhoni now plays in the team as a pure batsman and wicketkeeper, without the pressure of captaincy. He hasn’t clarified about his future, but looking at his current fitness and form, it will be foolish to speculate about his next move.

Sportskeeda’s take

As was evident in the ODI at Cuttack, Dhoni, with a blistering 134, rolled back the years in style, and showed why he can play with a free spirit, now that he doesn’t have extra luggage to carry.

As for Kohli, who relishes responsibility, captaincy can take him higher. With the right support structure around him, and the kind of knowledge he has acquired about the game, things can only get better.