New Delhi, Jan 6 (PTI) : Virat Kohli, who is all set to take over as the Indian captain across all formats paid glowing tributes to his predecessior Mahendra Singh Dhoni for being an inspirational leader and terming him "captain forever".

Kohli today took to twitter to express his feelings about the captain under whom he has played all along in the limited overs format since making his debut back in 2008.

"Thanks for always being the leader a youngster wants to have around him. You'll always be my captain @msdhoni Bhai," Kohli tweeted.

Cricketers across the globe including the likes of Michael Clarke, Michael Vaughan, Shahid Afridi and Zaheer Abbas have all spoke highly about the impact that Dhoni had on Indian cricket during his tenure as captain over the better part of this decade.

Chairman of selectors MSK Prasad and A team coach Rahul Dravid has also termed the timing as perfect with Kohli getting two and half years going into the 2019 World Cup in England.