Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli unite in praise, reveal how MS Dhoni transformed their careers forever

India National Cricket Team skipper Rohit Sharma revealed how the former skipper of the team MS Dhoni helped him in shaping his career. He talked about how the keeper-batter always gives belief to youngsters by standing beside them and giving them confidence.

MS Dhoni is highly credited for taking the Indian National Cricket Team to great heights in all three formats of the game. Not only this, the keeper-batter has been given all the credit for giving team players like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja, and others.

It was under his captaincy that Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli made their debuts for the India National Cricket Team. The duo has now gone on to become the stalwarts of Indian cricket, helping the team get to a different level altogether in all three formats.

Rohit Sharma was struggling to find his place in the Indian team early on. But it was MS Dhoni who promoted him up the order in the Champions Trophy 2013 and since then it has been unstoppable. He has turned out to become one of the best openers in the and is also leading the team.

Rohit Sharma while talking about MS Dhoni, who retired from international cricket in 2020 on 15th August, spoke about his journey under Dhoni, saying that keeper-batter makes the youngsters feel secure irrespective of the situation of the game. While talking about the impact of the former captain, he stated:

"I made my World Cup debut under him (Dhoni), which was 2007 and since then we've had a very long journey, played a lot of cricket together. His ability to just be with the youngster and encourage him, no matter what the situation of the game is, no matter what the performance of a player is, he just tries to make sure that there is enough composure around that player, the player doesn't feel insecure, and that I think is a very very important thing when the player just comes into the team.

"And even for a player who has played a lot of games, for him also, he might go through a bad patch, you need someone to just come around you and just pat your back and say 'hey nothing to worry about, you've got all the ability, talent and everything, just need to go out there and enjoy. You need that kind of backing and support from your captain and that is what we all got when he was captain," Rohit Sharma told Star Sports.

His understanding of the game and his understanding of handling pressure is second to none - Virat Kohli on MS Dhoni

Virat Kohli, who also made his debut under MS Dhoni, talked about the keeper-batter's understanding of the game. He highlighted the tactical brilliance of Dhoni as captain while talking about the time when he was his deputy. Reflecting on the same, he explained:

"His understanding of the game and his understanding of handling pressure is second to none. And his tactical ability, obviously the world has seen for so many years. His tactical brilliance as a captain. When I became captain as well, I used to discuss a lot of things with him.

"And the other way around as well, when I was the vice-captain and he was captain, I would constantly go to him with ideas. And that's why we have such a good and mutually respectful relationship because we both have always fought for the best thing for the team."