With MS Dhoni calling it a day to his long and successful stint as captain of the Indian limited-overs team, and the baton being smoothly passed on to young and energetic Virat Kohli, who now holds the helm in all formats, things are likely to change in the dressing room and the approach of the team will also get a makeover. Here's a look at some interesting contrasts in the approach of the two modern day stalwarts:
While Dhoni is known for his calmness on and off the field, which also reflected in the decisions he would made at crucial moments, Virat Kohli is all adrenaline and aggression.
Dhoni always backed his instincts to add the surprise quotient in his decisions; Virat has a clear role assigned for all the individuals at his disposal.
Dhoni believed in promoting young talents — even if that meant he would bat down the order to give the team added cushion — and went about his business with minimum fuss. Kohli likes to take the onus on himself when it comes to bailing the team out of any tricky situation.
Both the captains also display contrasting approach with willow in hand. While Dhoni would take the game to the slog overs before bringing his big shots to finish the game, Kohli is more like, ‘If I'm set, let's not wait till late to seal the deal’.
While Dhoni as a batsman relies more on power (his helicopter shot being an example), Kohli has developed a 360 degree play with delicate touch and knack of finding gaps between fielders.
Amid these contrasts, there are some striking similarities too:
For one, both are extremely gifted batsmen with a strong bottom-hand and are super-quick while stealing those quick singles and two’s.
Both of them are extremely fit and athletic and constantly work to improve on this aspect of the game.
They use their fast bowlers as a weapon whenever there is even the slightest help for pacers from the wicket.