Not Virat Kohli As Suresh Raina Names 'Next MS Dhoni Of Team India' In Terms Of Captaincy

MS Dhoni is undoubtedly India’s most successful and decorated captain. He led the country for the first time in the 2007 T20 World Cup and did not look back thereafter. He is still the only captain to have won all the ICC tournaments – the T20 World Cup, 50-over World Cup and Champions Trophy.

He is also the first captain under whom India rose to the top of the ICC Test rankings for the first time in 2009. Unsurprisingly, many believe that replacing MS Dhoni as the captain will be a tough task for Team India. Virat Kohli has done a stellar job as captain but his performance in ICC tournaments has left a lot to be desired.

Only time will tell how Kohli completes his captaincy tenure and whether he manages to achieve the feats of his illustrious predecessor. But for the time being, India batsman Suresh Raina, who is one of MS Dhoni’s closest friends, believe that Rohit Sharma is the one who is closest to the former India captain in terms of captaincy.

Raina believes Rohit has amazing credentials as captain. The left-handed batsman, who has played under Dhoni for India and in the IPL under CSK and also under Rohit at the 2018 Nidahas Trophy, called the opening batsman the “next MS Dhoni”.

“I would say he is the next MS Dhoni for the Indian cricket team,” Raina said on The Super Over Podcast. “I have seen him, he is calm, he likes to listen, he likes to give confidence to the players and on top of that, he likes to lead from the front. When the captain leads from the front and at the same time, he gives respect to the dressing room atmosphere, you know you have it all.

“He thinks everyone is a captain. I have seen him; I have played under him when we won the Asia Cup in Bangladesh. I have seen how he gives confidence to young players like Shardul [Thakur], Washington Sundar and [Yuzvendra] Chahal of course,” he added.

Well, Rohit do have the record to prove his captaincy credentials. He is the most successful captain in IPL, having led Mumbai Indians to 4 titles in just 7 years. He has also done well as captain in international cricket whenever he got the chance. In 2018, he led the Men in Blue to glory in the Nidahas Trophy and the Asia Cup.,

So far, Rohit has led India in 10 ODIs, winning eight of them and 20 T20Is, of which the team has won 16. Raina further said Rohit’s aura naturally allows players under him to thrive.

“Around him, players enjoy the intensity, they enjoy his aura. I think when you enjoy the aura of a player, you like to be positive and I think that is what he is good at,” Raina said.

“He is one of the top-most, after MS Dhoni, who was brilliant. He has won more [IPL] trophies than MS, but I would say they both are very similar. Both of them, as a captain, like to listen. When your captain is listening, you can solve a lot of problems, you can solve the mental problems of the players. So in my book, they both are wonderful,” he added.

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