Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin of the Indian cricket team discussed the main distinctions between Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and MS Dhoni styles of captaincy. Ashwin participated in the team’s noteworthy accomplishments during the last ten years while playing under every captaincy. The three captains of India have recently been compared extensively, but Ashwin identified one key area in which Rohit differs significantly from both Virat and Ms Dhoni. He claimed that Rohit is far more tactical than the other two.
“Dhoni will never approach a player and ask him to play on a particular field.”
“He will desire for the player to grow from his own errors.”
“This is what is expected of you; you can do this,” Rohit will say, placing his arm around your shoulder.
According to former India spinner Harbhajan Singh, Rohit Sharma and Mahendra Singh Ms Dhoni have very different captaincy styles. Each has a unique way of inspiring the players on the field.
Bhajji said, “Ms Dhoni and Rohit are completely different captains,” drawing comparisons between their leadership philosophies. Ms Dhoni will never approach a player and inquire about his preferred field. He will wish for the player to grow from his errors.
“Captain Rohit will go and speak with every player.” He’s the guy who will throw his arm around your shoulder and say, “You can do this; this is what’s expected of you.” In an interview with former Under-19 player Taruwar Kohli for the podcast Find a Way, Bhajji said, “He will give you the energy and confidence.”
Ask Shardul to try this. When I went to him, I told Ms Dhoni, but he said, “Paaji if I tell him today, he will never learn.” Allow him to discover on his own. He reasoned that Shardul would only learn if he was punished for crossing limits. Thus, that was Dhoni’s captaincy style.
Playing for both CSK and the Mumbai Indians, Harbhajan feels Rohit’s captaincy has changed significantly due to Test leadership.
“That experience counts a lot because he has led the Mumbai Indians for 12–13 years and has led India for a while.” Since Rohit began leading Test cricket teams, the last two to three years have seen the most significant shift in his captaincy. In Test cricket, being captain teaches you a lot.
In Twenty20 cricket, many moments go unremarked. Still, in Test cricket, the captain oversees every game aspect. His strategies, plans, and executes are crucial to win a Test match. Because of it, you’re a fantastic leader.
As captain of the Test team, Steve Waugh was exceptional. You will excel as a captain in Twenty20 and One-Day International cricket if you are an excellent skipper in Test cricket.
Although Harbhajan was a member of the Indian T20 World Cup winning squad in 2007, he feels that the Rohit-led Indian team that took home the trophy this year was superior.
India’s players were unable to properly comprehend T20 cricket during the 2007 T20 World Cup because it was a brand-new format.
This 2024 T20 World Cup-winning side had more match wins than our team from the 2007 T20 World Cup. We had never used the format before at that time. Our first game of T20 cricket was underway. We didn’t comprehend the format because we needed to play it more. However, we were able to settle into a rhythm and continued to prevail.
In 2007, we didn’t have any well-known names. We had Viru (Virender Sehwag), Yuvi (Yuvraj Singh), myself, and Ajit (Agarkar), but the other players were new, and Ms Dhoni was captaining the team for the first time.
“This time, you had big match-winners like Hardik Pandya, Virat Kohli, and Rohit Sharma.” Next are Axar Patel, Rishabh Pant, and Suryakumar Yadav.
People rarely discuss Axar’s involvement, even though it is evident in the outcome. Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh were terrific; they both won significant matches and performed incredibly well the entire tournament.
“Observe Rohit Sharma; he established the momentum against Australia with his excellent performance.”
When Bhajji played for Ms Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League, he shed insight into Ms Dhoni’s leadership style.
“I was fielding at short fine leg while Dhoni was keeping.” Kane Williamson smashed the opening ball over the top for a boundary when Shardul Thakur entered the bowl, and he then struck another four off the next delivery.
“Rohit’s captaincy has two to three positive aspects. He consistently maintains a light atmosphere within the team. He tries to keep it lighthearted. Furthermore, he also maintains excellent balance and is strong tactically. Though Rohit focuses more on tactics, Ashwin acknowledged in an interview with Vimal Kumar that Ms Dhoni and Virat were tactically skilled players.
Ashwin also disclosed that prior to any significant game or series, Rohit meets with the Indian cricket team’s analytics team to devise an appropriate plan involving particular plans for individual players.
When a significant game or series is about to happen, Rohit gets together with the coach and analytics team to prepare. They discuss things like a bowler’s strategy and a batsman’s weaknesses. That’s his strength, but he also supports the players and maintains a positive team atmosphere. He fully supports a guy he chooses for the starting lineup. I’ve spent most of my playing career with these three captains,” he continued.
Jonty Rhodes, the fielding coach for the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), previously addressed the growing rumours that India captain Rohit Sharma will join the team for the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) season.
There’s still much doubt about Rohit’s status as the big IPL 2025 auction draws near. Rumours that Rohit would leave the Mumbai Indians have been spreading quickly lately.
Ravichandran Ashwin “Well, there’s the team composition and balance. Although I enjoy watching Rohit Sharma bat, I’m not advocating that he replace anyone else just because we abruptly changed our arrangement. Thus, whatever occurs—as I mentioned—who is ever present? I’ll try my hardest to help,” he said to ANI.
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