MS Dhoni is nurturing Kohli, which is a good thing for Indian cricket: David Warner

Australia have lost both the ODIs so far against India in the limited overs series and one of the highlights of India’s dominating show is the way MS Dhoni  and Virat Kohli are working together. Australia’s David Warner has said that Dhoni has been a good helping hand to Kohli. India have been a dominating side since the Champions Trophy loss to Pakistan in the finals.

Kohli-led side has tasted victories against West Indies and Sri Lanka since then, and now they are just one win away from wrapping the series against Steve Smith’s Australia.  Warner spoke to India Today and said that Dhoni has brought a sea of calmness to blend with Kohli’s aggressive approach.

“MS Dhoni brought a sense of calmness to his captaincy. He did a great job as captain and he is still doing a great job, nurturing Virat and that is a great thing to do for a former captain,” Warner told India Today’s Boria Majumdar. “He is nurturing Virat and that is a good thing to do for both men.”

However, Warner said Kohli’s real challenge would come when he goes through a lean patch as captain. After taking over as full-time captain of the limited-overs teams, Kohli has led India to series wins over England, West Indies and Sri Lanka.

Overseas tour will be the real challenge: Warner

“Virat has not had a lot of non-success as captain but the real challenge comes when you start losing games,” Warner said. “The real test comes when you start losing some games. We are here for another three matches to go and hopefully we can turn that around and maybe we will see a different captain,” he said.

“We always talked about how if you restrict the Indian team to under 300 in their conditions, you are going a long way to winning the game. We did not get that key partnership in the middle.

“The ball was swinging and it was challenging conditions. Bhuvi and Bumrah bowled brilliantly upfront. We lost two early wickets, established a partnership in the middle but did not have that one batsman going on to get a big score,” Warner said, summing up the 50-run defeat.