Virat Kohli And MS Dhoni - 5 Key Differences In Captaincy

 

Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Virat Kohli have been two men who have shaped India's cricketing fortunes as captains in the current decade. While Dhoni continues to be the undisputed leader in the shorter formats of the game, Kohli, who was Dhoni's understudy for a long time, took over the reigns in Test cricket in the beginning of 2015.

While India endured a tough time under Dhoni's leadership in Test cricket, in the last 3 years of his reign, the tables have turned ever since Kohli has become the captain.

Having said this, we must also keep in mind the fact that Dhoni too had a great start as Test captain, leading India to the summit of the Test rankings in his initial years, when India played most of its Test cricket at home. The losses came later as the team struggled to perform as a unit outside the sub-continent.

Virat Kohli has emulated Dhoni by taking India to the zenith of Test cricket on the back of victories achieved mostly in the sub-continent. While sterner tests await Team India and Kohli in the years to come, we cannot discount the achievements. Both Dhoni and Kohli are absolute leaders, but with a distinct leadership style of their own.

Here are 5 key differences that we at CricketNext have observed in their styles.

1) Kohli - A paragon of aggression, Dhoni - A more cautious approach
Virat Kohli is another name for aggression on the cricket field. This is something, which not only comes through in his batting, but also his captaincy. Virat as captain is always looking to attack the opposition whatever be the situation of the match. Hence, you can see more fielders in catching positions while bowling and also a more T20 like approach in batting when a rearguard is the need of the hour. The overall essence is to push for a victory, even if it results in defeat eventually. He is one man who doesn't settle for a draw.
Dhoni on the other hand was more subdued in his leadership style, often accused by pundits of letting the match drift by adopting a defensive approach. While, it needs to be understood that Dhoni captained India at a time when the average age of the side was either close to 30 or more than that with several ageing legends in the last leg of their career, hence a completely aggressive approach could have been difficult to endorse. But whether it is the field setting or the team composition, Dhoni always had a cautious approach.
2) Treatment of R Ashwin as an out and out attacking bowler
Kohli knows Ashwin is India's biggest match-winner with the ball and he lets the man play that role with complete freedom. Not once has he been seen asking his premier spinner to take his foot off the accelerator, even when the chips are down. This has resulted in Ashwin rediscovering his mojo in the last two years.
Dhoni on the other hand often used Ashwin as a defensive ploy, trying to stop the flow of runs. Not just that, a few failures outside the sub-continent meant Dhoni even benched the senior bowler. Now that will never inspire a bowler to go on an all out attack mode as he is constantly worried about his place in the team.
3) Backing Pace Bowlers
Virat Kohli has been known for his penchant for out and out pace bowlers. Something which has given the likes of Umesh Yadav and Mohammad Shami the required confidence to go ahead and bend their backs on the placid tracks in India. Both Umesh and Shami have held their own in the recent Test series despite the dominance of spinners.
MS Dhoni had a safety first style of leadership and that is something which did not inspire much confidence in the pace bowlers. Ishant Sharma for the longest period in his career was used as a buffer, deployed not to take wickets, but to give the spinners a break.
4) The 5 bowler strategy
Virat Kohli the captain has been clear about the need to play 5 bowlers in Test cricket in order to take 20 wickets and the team has been reaping rich rewards of this strategy. It has come as a boon for the team that the lower order batting has also improved leaps and bounds.
Dhoni on the other hand was a bit reluctant to play the extra bowler as he was keen on playing 6 pure batsmen with the captain himself coming in to bat at number 7 followed by 4 bowlers. While there have been occasions when Dhoni did go in with 5 bowlers, it was not something, which he endorsed as a captain.
5) Horses for Courses Approach
India under Virat Kohli has a seen a complete departure from a defensive strategy, with the latter adopting a 'Horses for Courses' strategy. This has also resulted in a number of youngsters getting an opportunity to play international cricket.
Dhoni was known for having a set number of players in Test cricket, whom he backed to do the job for him, whatever be the conditions