Former Indian leg-spinner Laxman Sivaramakrishnan has listed out the differences between captaincy styles of MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli. MS Dhoni, India’s former skipper, was known for his sedate approach and he was always cool as a cucumber in the crunch situations of the matches.
On the other hand, Virat Kohli is more aggressive in his approach and wears his heart on his sleeve. Kohli is known to put his emotions on display but he always likes to take the bull by its horns.
Thus, MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli are poles apart in their leadership style. Dhoni was always calm and composed whereas Kohli likes to get under the skin of the opposition.
It is believed by many cricket pundits that the current skipper Virat Kohli is still a work in progress as a captain of the side whereas MS Dhoni was able to hit the ground running when he was handed over the captaincy baton.
Laxman added that Dhoni is a bowler’s captain whereas Kohli will have more suggestions for his bowlers.
Laxman Sivaramakrishnan said while talking to Times of India, “Both are different captains (Kohli and Dhoni), Virat is more of an aggressive and expressive kind of captain and MS is quite laid back and you can hardly read from his facial expression and what his body is speaking about. But MS Dhoni is more of a bowlers’ captain which is a big advantage for any bowler.
MS Dhoni was able to handle the pressure with more guile whereas Kohli has his own methods as he always looks to take the challenge to the opposition.
Dhoni led India in 332 matches across the three formats in which the team won 178 and lost 120. The former skipper had a winning percentage of 53.61.
Kohli has led India in 181 matches across the three forms in which the team has won on 117 occasions whereas they have lost 47. Hence, Kohli has a winning percent of 64.64. The current skipper has a potent pace battery in his team and Dhoni had not enjoyed that trait under his leadership.
Both the Indian captains are known to get the best out of their players and they have been instrumental in the success of the team. Dhoni was able to achieve a lot during his captaincy tenure whereas Kohli still has a lot to prove as a captain of the side.
