Virat Kohli recalls helping out MS Dhoni with wicketkeeping duties: Understood he has a lot on his plate

Virat Kohli said he understood the workload MS Dhoni had when he was the captain of Team India, saying he realised how difficult it was to focus on captaincy as well as wicketkeeping duties.

Virat Kohli recalled an incident from a ODI match against Bangladesh in 2015, saying MS Dhoni had asked him to keep wickets for a couple of overs as he wanted to take a short break.

Kohli accepted the request from his then captain and kept wickets for a couple of overs. With Dhoni being away from action, Kohli also took care of field placements in the game against Bangladesh.

Speaking to Mayank Agarwal on bcci.tv, Kohli told his junior teammate to ask about this incident to Dhoni whenever he gets an opportunity.

"Kabhi Mahi bhai se pucho, how this happened (Try and ask Mahi bhai as to how this happened). He said 'yaar, do-teen over just keep wickets (Please keep wickets for a couple of overs)'. I was keeping wickets and also adjusting the field," Kohli said.

"Then I understood he has a lot on his plate when he is on the field because he has to focus on every ball and also adjust the field."

'Was scared of getting hit on the face'

Kohli also said that he was in a fix as Umesh Yadav was bowling at full title and was even concerned that a delivery might misbehave and hit his face. However, Kohli revealed he did not want to wear a helmet while keeping wickets.

The one problem was Umesh was bowling and he was bowling gas. I thought naak pe lag jaegy ball (what if I get hit in the face?) and I wanted to wear a helmet but then I thought bohot beizati ho jaegy (it would be very humiliating)," Kohli said.

Virat Kohli took over from MS Dhoni as the captain of the Test side as early as 2014 midway during the tour of Australia. Dhoni had made an unforeseen retirement call after the 2nd Test during the call.

Kohli took over the reins of ODI and T20I team after Dhoni stepped gave up limited-overs captaincy in 2017. Nonetheless, Dhoni has helped with the transition as he has been playing limited-overs cricket under Kohli's leadership.

Dhoni has not played competitive cricket since India's exit in the 2019 World Cup semi-final. The World Cup-winning former captain is expected to be back for IPL 2020 if the tournament gets underway in the UAE in September-November.