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Virat Kohli has opened up about the conversations he shared with Rohit Sharma during the latter's tenure as India's captain. Kohli revealed that the two senior batters regularly exchanged ideas, with their discussions centred on improving the team and finding ways to address problems quickly.
Kohli and Rohit spent several years together at the top level, including a period when they shared leadership responsibilities for India. While Rohit eventually took over as captain across formats, Kohli remained one of the senior voices in the dressing room and continued to contribute his experience to the team.
Virat Kohli opens up on how he supported captain Rohit Sharma
Kohli explained that exchanging ideas with the captain was something he had also experienced during his own time as India's leader. He said he would discuss various aspects of the team with Rohit Sharma, while former captain MS Dhoni also remained part of those conversations during the transition period.
"When you have played for so long and you have been in leadership positions respectively for India, the goal is always that, as a senior player, you would bounce off things with your captain. In the same way, when I became captain, I would bounce off a lot of ideas with him, and MS equally, because he had just stepped down. And similarly for Rohit, when he became captain, he would bounce off ideas with me as well," Virat Kohli said on JioStar.
So, the conversations have always been about how to take the Indian team forward - Virat Kohli
According to Virat Kohli, his discussions with Rohit Sharma were never simply about individual performances. The focus was on what could help India improve as a team, particularly when major tournaments approached and the margin for error became smaller.
"So, the conversations have always been about how to take the Indian team forward. Because eventually, the end goal is, how does the team benefit? But of course, when the World Cup comes closer, then you're also looking to tighten things a lot more and streamline small little things.
"You go into more intense, more detailed conversations of how can we get a particular right, immediately correct it and utilise it in the next game. So, those conversations have always been there between me and him," Virat Kohli said.
Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma's record as captains in ODIs
Virat Kohli's record as India's ODI captain includes 65 wins from 95 matches, giving him a win percentage of 68.42 in completed matches listed in the record. India lost 27 matches under him, while one ended in a tie and two produced no result.
Rohit took over the ODI captaincy later in his career and led India in 56 matches. He won 42 matches and lost 12, while one game ended in a tie and another produced no result. His win percentage in the record stands at 75.
Their impact together, however, extends beyond captaincy. Kohli and Rohit have formed one of India's most productive ODI partnerships. Across their careers, they have added 5,792 runs in 104 innings, averaging 59.10, with 21 century partnerships and 18 fifty-plus stands.
Their highest partnership came against West Indies in Guwahati in 2018, when they put together 246 runs for the second wicket. Rohit scored 152* while Kohli made 140 as India chased down 323 with eight wickets in hand.
Also Read: "I Want To Forget 19th November": Rohit Sharma recalls 2023 World Cup painful story
