Before Rohit Sharma, Team India had two contrasting leaders in MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli.© AFP
Prior to current captain Rohit Sharma‘s tenure, Team India had two contrasting leaders in MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli. While Dhoni is known for his cool and calm demeanor, Kohli made his name with his aggressive approach on the field. Under Dhoni, India won the 2007 T20 World Cup, 2011 ODI World Cup and the 2013 Champions Trophy. On the other hand, Kohli led Team India to new heights in the longest format of the game. On being asked to pick between Kohli and Dhoni’s captaincy styles, former India head coach Ravi Shastri came up with an epic respose.
“Dono Chaiye Mujhe Side Mein. Dono Bilkul. Ek Thanda, Ek Garma Garma. Aur Main Beech Mein Fit Hunga (I need both in my team. Both absolutely. One cool, one hot. I will fit in the middle,” Shastri replied to fan’s query in a video uploaded by Star Sports.
Kohli made his debut for India under Dhoni’s captaincy in all three formats, before taking over captaincy the Test captaincy in 2015 after the 41-year-old had announced his retirement.
In 2017, Dhoni resigned from white-ball captaincy and played the final two years of his international career under Kohli’s leadership.
After taking a break from the sport, Kohli revealed that Dhoni was the only former player who contacted him personally during his tough run of form after he quit Test captaincy in January 2022.
“When I left Test captaincy, I got a message from only one person, with whom I played in the past. It was MS Dhoni. A lot of people have my number, a lot of people give me suggestions, a lot of people talk about my game on TV. But out of those people who had my number, I didn’t get a message from anyone else barring Dhoni,” Kohli had said.
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