MS Dhoni vs Virat Kohli! Varun Aaron compares leadership style of India greats

Former India cricketer Varun Aaron pointed out the difference between the leadership of Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni. He believes that both the stalwarts of the Indian cricket were good captains but their mindset separates them from each other.

Both MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli deserve a lot of credit for taking Indian cricket to great heights. The duo during their stint as the leaders of the team did some extraordinary things and made sure that they made the Indian team a dominant force in World Cricket.

Be it in Tests, T20Is, and ODIs, both MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli led from the front and ensured that India stayed at the top in all three formats of the game. It all started with Dhoni, who took charge in 2007 and restructured the entire system in Indian cricket.

MS Dhoni guided the team to the T20 World Cup win in 2007 and then led the side to the 2011 World Cup win before winning the Champions Trophy in 2013. While he made the team a white-ball giant, Virat Kohli ensured he changed the dynamics of the Indian Test cricket.

Under the leadership of Virat Kohli, Team India not only became dominant at home, but they also started winning overseas series. Both the greats ended their captaincy stint on high and their names are etched in the history of the record books for Indian captains.

Varun Aaron, who played under the leadership of MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli, opined on the captaincy stint of both the players. While he hailed Kohli as aggressive, the former fast bowler called Dhoni as more of the instinctive skipper. Speaking to Sports Now, he explained:

“I mean, every individual is different. Virat has a very aggressive style of captaining. MS is more like, in the moment, instinctive. He doesn’t always want to be too aggressive. He… And Virat is also instinctive, but he is a little more aggressive.”

I think they’re both great captains – Varun Aaron on MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli

Varun Aaron further talked about the difference between the captaincy of MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli. He believes that an aggressive mindset is the one thing that separates the duo. He added:

“I think the only thing that differentiates both of them… I think they’re both great captains, but the only thing which would differentiate both of them is their aggressive mindset.”

Varun Aaron called time on his first-class cricket recently following Jharkhand’s 89-run win over Rajasthan in the Ranji Trophy. But the fast bowler confirmed that he will be continuing to play in the white-ball formats in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy.

Varun Aaron picked up 173 wickets in 66 first-class matches. He didn’t get much opportunity in the national team. He picked 18 wickets in nine Test matches for India that he played. The fast bowler mostly was known for his pace and swing. He troubled the batters with raw pace along with swing. However, a traffic jam in the Indian bowling unit didn’t allow him to get many opportunities.