Undoubtedly ViratKohli is a great batsman. His every shots in the book are elements of elegance. But leading a team is a different thing. It demands an exceptional set of skills and mindset. Here are the reasons why Virat Kohli could not match with MS Dhoni in terms of leadership.
- Captain Cool
MS Dhoni clearly reflects his cool activities on the field. His calm temperament was the sole reason India won many close encounters. While Kohli is very expressive and doesn’t believe in keeping his feelings to himself. His aggressions did a good favour to himself as well as the team to an extent in the past, but it has started to backfire for quite a time now. Here lies MSD’s invaluable contributions for his team.
- Ego and Emotions
It has been evident ViratKohli’s ego is bigger than the game, plain and simple. Ego breeds silly mistakes and we have seen that many a times in the past.After playing a poor shot to get out in the World Cup 2015 semi-final, he proclaimed after the game that he was the best player in the squad and people should respect his runs scored and contributions during the last five years.
On the other hand MS Dhoni has been rarely egoistic in his career; barely shows any kind of anger or frustration on the field. In the recent ODI, he played a match-winning innings of 92 off 86 which was crucial regarding his future role with the team after so much of chatters and critics. But he credited his bowlers for the welcome win in the post-match interview.
- Handling Pressure
There are two types of captains- one who take the pressure off team mates and onto themselves, and there are those who let the team face the heat. MS is of the first kind. He has time and again delivered when it matters most.MS Dhoni is a kind of man who hates sledging and exchangeable words. Doesn’t let pressure to dominate him at all.
But time and again Kohli shows that he is vulnerable to pressure. Virat is vulnerable in the face of expectations and it is one of his most easily detectable weaknesses. Kohli is yet to be tested under pressure at the senior level, but given his current trend of form and hot-headedness, it will be very difficult for him to tackle pressure.
- Game Changing Tactics
Mahi’s brain seems like as fast and efficient as computer after looking at his game changing tactics over the years. Remember in T20 WC 2007? When Joginder Sharma was given to bowl the last over and people disappointed after he was hit six of the first ball. But after few balls they realized MSD’s decision. The spinner Ravi Ashwin was also given the new ball to start the innings first time by Mahi. He took this step when he saw there was not much to defend and he unbelievably succeeded in his plan.
Mahi always has alternate plans ready on the field. If the main plan doesnot work he implements plan B. He is a fast thinker on the field and also a rapid decision maker.
- Clusters of Trophies
Looking at the Trophy Cabinet possessed by MS Dhoni it can be concluded that he is one of the greatest captains of the world to have played the game of cricket. With World T20, the Border-Gavaskar trophy, the CB series, the Asia Cup, the ICC World Cup and the ICC Champions Trophy all under his belt, he has led Indian cricket to greatest heights than any captain had ever done before him.
He is the only captain to led his team to No.1 position in every format of the game. Has been also the only skipper to have featured in ICC Top 10 ODI batsmen for 8 consecutive years now.
Dhoni has received accolades for his captaincy by several of his senior team-mates including the Little Master, who has declared Dhoni to be the best captain he has played under.Kohli, again has little experience in this, so there is little that can be said about him, but in the meanwhile, he can certainly learn from Dhoni.
It can be concluded that while Kohli is a promising candidate for the captain’s job for the future, he is not quite prepared to replace MS Dhoni. Not yet anyway.
MS Dhoni’s absence will be acutely felt by India after his retirement and the country will have a tough time finding someone who could fill in his shoes.