5 Players Who Made Their Debut Under MS Dhoni But Performed Under Virat Kohli

MS Dhoni is one of the masters of the game when it comes to marshaling his troops and bringing the best out of them in the field and youngsters learn a lot from him. The “captain cool” who won the prestigious 50 over world cup for India after 28 years had seen a lot of people coming through the ranks in his era.

Some of the best performers at present for India in international stages have started their careers under MS Dhoni but haven’t tasted much success at the beginning. However, another match-winner who took their careers to the next level was Virat Kohli who is one of the best captains India has been having in test cricket despite him, not winning trophies. Here are the 5 players who made their debut under MS Dhoni put performed under Virat Kohli.

5 Players Who Made Their Debut Under MS Dhoni But Performed Under Virat Kohli:

Ravichandran Ashwin

Ravichandran Ashwin has been the best bowler for India over the last decade in the longest format and his numbers in test cricket do prove that too. He has played 78 tests and has taken 409 test wickets at an average of 24.7 with 30 five-wicket hauls already in his career. The 34-year-old is very destructive in home conditions and rips through the batting order.

Ashwin first played for the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL where he was immensely encouraged by MS Dhoni and then he made his ODI and T20 debut for India soon under the leadership of MS Dhoni. He had been very effective in early days at the subcontinent pitches but wasn’t great in overseas conditions. But Virat Kohli brought the best out of him in overseas conditions too and he is one of the best spinners going around in world cricket now.

Hardik Pandya

Hardik Pandya was called up for the Indian limited-overs side after his brilliance in the IPL for Mumbai Indians and he showed that he had a lot of potentials to be India’s number one all-rounder. He made his debut for India under the leadership of MS Dhoni and he seemed to have found the solution for India’s long search for a fast-bowling all-rounder.

Initially, Pandya was preferred to come in at seven and he had to bowl 10 overs as the fifth bowler. But later post the retirement of MS Dhoni, Pandya improved his batting immensely and was slotted into the number six position which meant that India could play six bowlers with two quality all-rounders. Virat Kohli was quite happy with what Hardik provided the team in terms of balance and his finishing abilities.

Mohammed Shami

Mohammed Shami started his career for India in tests in 2013 under the leadership of MS Dhoni and he always had the talent in him to be a great bowler. His seam position was excellent and was touted to be the next big thing in India. But despite all that, he wasn’t bowling consistently at the right areas and did go for a few runs at the back end.

After coming under Virat Kohli’s captaincy, Shami had a different version of himself and bowled very fast at the right lengths. He seemed to be fitter than ever and started to be a great bowler in all the formats for India. He has grown in stature and executes the yorkers to perfection at the death overs now. Shami is one of the important members of the fast bowling trio, India has been having in Test cricket under Kohli now.

Cheteshwar Pujara

Cheteshwar Pujara made his test debut for India in 2010 under the leadership of MS Dhoni. He has had a wonderful career already and has been a vital force for India in tests. He has owned the number three position for India in tests and his numbers tell the story too. He has played 85 tests and has scored 6244 runs at an average of 46.6.

Pujara started his career brilliantly with double hundreds but failed in overseas conditions with the average doubling up in home conditions. He was even dropped from the playing XI in 2018 in the England tests but made his comeback into the team and ever since that, he has become one of the pillars of the current Indian cricket team. He has played according to the need of the situations.

Ravindra Jadeja

The 32-year-old all-rounder, Ravindra Jadeja is turning out to be a great asset for India in all formats and he has some excellent numbers to back it up in the last three years. He has worked on his batting immensely and he is a wicket-taking bowler in any format now. He is one of the best fielders going around in the world right now and he has a great impact on the team’s success in at least one of the three departments.

Jadeja came up through the ranks from U-19 cricket alongside Virat Kohli and after his impressive start to his IPL career, he made his debut soon for India in 2009 in the limited-overs cricket under MS Dhoni. Jadeja made his test debut in 2012 under the same captain but he never seemed to be the world-class all-rounder he is now.

He was very young and was in and out of the side. He lost his place in the Indian limited-overs side after the 2017 champions trophy and ever since that he has contributed immensely under Virat Kohli in all the formats.