Mahendra Singh Dhoni saved me from getting dropped from team many times: Virat Kohli

New Delhi: Indian skipper Virat Kohli, who officially became the leader of the Indian cricket team across formats after Mahendra Singh Dhoni stepped down as limited-overs skipper, lauded the latter for helping him when he was a newcomer into the team.

In an exclusive interview with Bcci.tv, the flamboyant Delhi batsman praised Dhoni for helping him as a youngster and also someone who saved him from being left out of the squad on numerous occasions.

"For me, he is always going to be my captain because I started my career under him, he is handing over the leadership to me. For me, he will always be my captain, he will always be the person who guided me initially, who gave me opportunity, who gave me ample space and ample time to grow as a cricketer, who saved me from getting dropped from the team many a times," Kohli said.

Now that Kohli is in charge of the team in all three formats, he said that he has massive shoes to fill, but Dhoni will always remain his captain. (ALSO READ: Virat Kohli incredible form in 2016 - In Numbers)

"Obviously these are massive shoes to fill. You think of MS Dhoni and the first word that comes to mind is captain. You don't relate to MS Dhoni in any other way," he said.

COMING UP SOON on https://t.co/CPALMGgLOj - Skipper @imVkohli talks about Captain @msdhoni #TeamIndia #INDvENG pic.twitter.com/OLenwzoVBg — BCCI (@BCCI) January 7, 2017

Earlier on Thursday, Kohli thanked Dhoni for his support in an emotional tweet.

Thanks for always being the leader a youngster wants to have around him. You'll always be my captain @msdhoni Bhai — Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) January 6, 2017

Dhoni will continue to be a part of the team as a wicket-keeper batsman. He was included in both ODI as well as T20I squads for the upcoming series against England.