R Ashwin highlights MAJOR captaincy difference between Rohit Sharma compared to MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli

Veteran Indian off-spinner R Ashwin highlighted the major difference in captaincy of Rohit Sharma compared to his predecessors Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni. After seniors such as Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly stepped aside, in the mid-2000s, Dhoni took over as the all-format captain before he passed the baton to Kohli. After Kohli, Rohit took over the reins and remains the Test and ODI captain to date. Under all three, India reached greatheights. Ashwin, who made his international debut during Dhoni's captaincy era and has played the majority of his cricket under him, Kohliand Rohit, shared the captaincy difference between the three.

'Dhoni and Virat were also tactically strong but Rohit works more on tactics'

In a recent interaction on Vimal Kumar's YouTube show, Ashwin was quizzed about the captaincy styles of the famed trio. Ashwin, a veteran of 100 Tests with 516 scalps in whites, stated, "2-3 things are nice about Rohit's captaincy. He always keep the environment of the team light. He makes an effort to keep it light. And he stays very balanced and tactically, he is strong. Both Dhoni and Virat were also tactically strong but Rohit works more on the tactics."

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Ashwin further opined on Rohit, "If there is any big match or series coming up, Rohit sits with the analytics team and coach and prepares for it, like what's the weakness of a particular batsman, what's the plan of a bowler. That's his strength but he always keeps the environment of the team light and backs the players." He added, "If he selects a player in the XI, he backs them 100%. I have played most of my career with these three captains."

Rohit became the T20I captain in late 2021, succeeding Kohli,before being appointed the all-format captain in early 2022. Under him, India have won the 2023 Asia Cup (ODIs) and the 2024 T20 World Cup and ended as runners-up in the 2021-23 WTC cycle and 2023 ODI World Cup at home.

Talking about Dhoni, he led India to all three ICC titles (2007 T20 WC, 2011 ODI World Cup, and 2013 Champions Trophy). Under him, India became a confident white-ball unit but kept falling flat in overseas Tests. His successor Kohli changed India's fortunes, making them fearless travellers and also leading them to the No. 1 position in the ICC Test Rankings. Thus, these three have been standout captains in Indian cricket.