Dhoni only wanted to make way for Pant in T20s: Kohli

India captain Virat Kohli on Thursday reiterated that Mahendra Singh Dhoni remains an integral part of the ODI team and the veteran wicket-keeper batsman decided not to play the upcoming T20s only to make way for the much younger Rishabh Pant.

"I think the selectors have already addressed this if I'm not wrong. And he's been spoken to, firstly... So, I don't see any reason why I should be sitting here and explaining that. I think the selectors have come out and explained exactly what happened," said Kohli at the post-match press conference after guiding India to another series win at home.

"I was not part of that conversation so... It is what the selectors explained. I think people are putting too much variables into the situation, which is not the case I can assure you of that. He's still a very integral part of this team and he just feels that in the T20 format, someone like Rishabh can get more chances."
"That is the only area we feel we can get better at. Obviously, batting and bowling are big variables. Fielding is something that is controllable and you need to get that from all the 11 players in the field."
"I was thinking they're going to bowl first when they won the toss. I was quite surprised they chose to bat. Might be because the way the last game went...thinking if we put up decent runs on the board they might find it difficult to chase it down with... you know, losing confidence in the last game as a batting group