Indian pacer Ishant Sharma opened up about Dhoni’s captaincy and how it seamlessly transitioned to Virat Kohli’s era.
Dhoni, who captained the Test team from 2008 to 2014, guided India to victories in 28 out of 60 matches. It was during India’s 2014 tour of Australia that Dhoni announced his retirement from Test cricket, passing on the mantle to the dynamic Virat Kohli.
Kohli elevated team India’s performance further. His captaincy boasts an impressive record of 40 wins in the 68 matches he led—a feat that places him among the most successful Test captains.
Ishant Sharma recently lauded both Dhoni and Kohli for their unique contributions. Speaking to JioCinema, Ishant acknowledged that Kohli’s leadership was exemplary. He attributed much of the team’s bowling strength during Kohli’s era to the solid foundation laid by MS Dhoni.
“He was unmatched. Bowling unit was complete while Virat was captain. We were at a transition period while we were playing for Mahi bhai. Shami and Umesh were new at the moment, and I was the only one present. Everyone else would take turns. Bhuvi, too, was new. As a communicator, Mahi bhai is unrivaled. He did, however, groom the bowlers and entrust them with Virat. Shami and Umesh evolved into different bowlers over time, and then Jasprit also joined the team. As a result, he received a comprehensive package. The best thing he did was identify everyone’s strengths; he used to talk about one thing with one person and then let them be,” Ishant Sharma said.
Shifting the focus to Kohli’s captaincy, Ishant described him as an aggressive leader who demanded results from his bowlers.
“Kohli’s guidance extended to each player’s strengths. First and foremost, he was aggressive. If you bowl with the new ball, you can give up 25 runs in five overs and take two wickets. The key thing was that he assigned roles to everyone,” Ishant said.
‘You have played enough matches, it’s now time for you to step up. Don’t bowl thinking you have to bowl in a specific region; now you have to find ways to acquire wickets,’ he told me.
‘I know you can take wickets, but now I need you to bowl consistently. You can bowl three overs as a maiden,’ he told Shami.
‘This is your debut, you do what you do, but consistency is very crucial in Test,’ he told Bumrah.
In retrospect, Ishant recognized that Kohli’s captaincy after 2021 encouraged innovative thinking. “After 2021, I realized he wanted all of us to think out of the box”, the pacer concluded.