New Delhi, India

Veteran Indian pacer Ishant Sharma opined on the difference in captaincy between Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni and stated that the latter had groomed Indian bowlers before he stepped aside as the Test captain and handed over the reins to Kohli. Under Dhoni, India won 27 out of 60 Tests and led the side to the No. 1 ranking for the first time in late 2009. Kohli then went on to take the mantle forward and led exceptionally well to end with 40 wins from 68 Tests, the most by any Indian skipper. Recently, Ishant pointed out that while Kohli was very aggressive and defined the roles of every bowler, he was given a well-groomed bowling unit by his predecessor.

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'What Dhoni did was groom the bowlers and left them with Virat'

Speaking to JioCinema, Ishant said, "He was the best. When Virat was captain, bowling was complete. When we were playing under Mahi bhai, we were in a transition phase. At that time, Shami and Umesh were new, and only I was there. Everyone else would rotate. Bhuvi was also new. There is no match for Mahi bhai as a communicator. But what he did was groom the bowlers and leave them with Virat. Shami and Umesh, over time, became different bowlers and then Jasprit came in. So, he got a complete package. The best thing he did was identify everyone’s traits, that he used to talk about one thing with one person and then Iet them be."

Also read: My career highlight is winning the 2011 ODI World Cup, says Virat Kohli ahead of Asia Cup, CWC '23 edition

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'I realised Kohli wanted all of us to think out of the box'

Ishant then shifted focus to Kohli as a Test captain and lauded the star batter's approach. "First thing, he was aggressive. If you’re bowling with the new ball, you can concede 25 runs in five overs as long as you take two wickets. The important thing was that he gave everyone defined roles. He used to tell me, ‘You have played enough matches, it’s now time for you to step up. Don’t bowl thinking you have to bowl in a particular area, now you have to find ways of getting wickets’. He went to Shami and said, ‘I know you can take wickets, but now I need you to bowl consistently. That you can bowl three overs as maidens’. He went to Bumrah and said, ‘This is your debut, you do what you do, but consistency is most important in Test cricket’. After 2021, I realised he wanted all of us to think out of the box," the 34-year-old added.

Under Dhoni, India was a dominant Test side at home but had only limited success overseas (such as a Test series win in New Zealand, and a 1-1 series draw versus hosts South Africa). Kohli-led national side remained lethal in familiar conditions and registered some famous wins while on the road (for instance, the 2-1 Border-Gavaskar Trophy triumph versus Australia in Australia, an unassailable 2-1 series lead versus England in the 2021 English summer, etc).

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Kohli gave up the Test captaincy in early 2022, ending India's memorable era in whites.

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