Indian cricket has been blessed with great captains over the past two decades. Right from Sourav Ganguly to Virat Kohli, the baton passing has been seamless. MS Dhoni took over the reins in 2007. He won India the treble of the T20 World Cup (2007), ODI World Cup (2011), and Champions Trophy (2013). Dhoni took India to the pinnacle of Test rankings too. He groomed many youngsters during his reign. These youngsters were ready to ace the next level when Kohli took over the captaincy. They have excelled under Kohli’s leadership and are proven match-winners. lets look at Indian Match Winners That MS Dhoni Gave To Virat Kohli
Indian Match Winners That MS Dhoni Gave To Virat Kohli
#5 Shikhar Dhawan
Shikhar Dhawan made his ODI debut for India in 2010. But he couldn’t fire on his debut. He later played a couple of games in 2011 but didn’t really make the opener’s slot his own. It was in 2013 when Dhawan was called to make his Test debut against Australia. Dhawan scored the fastest Test century on debut. He made his way back into the ODI team scoring a century on comeback too. Dhawan blew hot and cold under Dhoni’s tenure. But it was under Kohli’s captaincy that Dhawan’s consistency came to the fore. He is now an ODI legend.
#4 Ravichandran Ashwin
Ravichandran Ashwin made an impressive debut under Dhoni’s captaincy. He was Dhoni’s trump card in subcontinental conditions. Ashwin touched peak form in Tests in 2015. His rise coincided with Kohli’s ascendancy. Kohli handed the ball to Ashwin and watched the magic unfold. Ashwin is now a force even overseas. He out-bowled Nathan Lyon in Australia. The credit for this partially goes to Kohli too who wanted his main man to become an all-format champion.
#3 Hardik Pandya
Hardik Pandya was fast-tracked into the Indian team based on his IPL performances. He made his debut under MS Dhoni in 2016. Pandya was still finding his feet in international cricket when Kohli took over. He has since then gone on to become one of India’s most valuable players. Pandya played key roles in India’s run in the Champions Trophy (2017) and World Cup (2019). Kohli’s belief in Pandya has paid off brilliantly.
#2 Ravindra Jadeja
Ravindra Jadeja was one cricketer who really had MS Dhoni’s backing. Dhoni trusted him more than Jadeja trusted himself. But Jadeja came into his own once he made his comeback into the team in 2018. He has averaged more than 50 with the bat and his fielding has gone through the roof. Jadeja is India’s and in fact world cricket’s premier allrounder currently.
#1 Rohit Sharma
Rohit Sharma is arguably the best all-format batsman in world cricket currently. He is India’s biggest match-winner. Sharma made his debut under Dhoni in 2007. But inconsistency was a large part of his game. Dhoni asked him to open in limited-overs cricket in 2013 and since then he has been a different batsman. But Rohit’s career came a full circle under Kohli’s captaincy. He has been the world’s leading batsman across formats since 2019. There isn’t any opener better than Sharma in world cricket. It was Kohli’s faith in Sharma that landed him the role of Test opener. Sharma has repaid the faith beautifully!
Also read: I Don’t Feel There Is Any Need To Motivate Kohli: Rajkumar
