Veteran Indian pacer Ishant Sharma has talked about the contrasting captaincy styles of legendary MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli during his career. Ishant noted that Dhoni's approach was characterized by a belief in "going with the flow of the game," suggesting a more intuitive, in-the-moment style of leadership.
Ishant Sharma opens up on contrasting leadership styles of MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli
In contrast, Ishant explained that Virat Kohli was more structured, often having a detailed plan in place before the match even began. Kohli's style was about executing that initial strategy while simultaneously possessing the ability to adapt based on the match's developments and how the opposition played. For context, Ishant played under Dhoni's leadership from 2008 to 2014 and later under Kohli's from 2015 to 2019.
“Mahi bhai (MS Dhoni) ke team main difference kya tha? Mahi bhai aise insaan hai jo field pe cheezay karte hai. Unko field pe karna pasand hai. The planning occurred based on the game situation. (What was different about playing under MS Dhoni? Mahi bhai was someone who did things on the field. He liked doing things on the field),” Ishant said on Raj Shamani’s podcast.
“With Virat (Kohli), that wasn’t the case. There was a basic plan, and then based on how things progressed, we assessed and made decisions. MS Dhoni was not a big believer in meetings. He had a simple funda that you will learn only if you make mistakes. He thought that if you made one mistake and how much time you take to make the next mistake, that is consistency,” he added.
Ishant also recalled a specific piece of advice MS Dhoni gave the team during the high-stakes 2013 Champions Trophy final. The lanky pacer recounted that Dhoni emphasized the importance of self-reliance, telling the players that if the Men in Blue wanted to win the match, they would have to "work things out on their own." In a memorable line, Dhoni stressed that "god was not coming to save them," urging the team to take complete ownership of the situation.
“During the 2013 Champions Trophy final, it was raining and everyone thought the game would be washed out. He said, yeh match hoga, chota hoga par yeh mat sochna ki bhagwan aake match jeetayega. Khudh he kuch karna padega, sab cheezay. Bhagwaan pe maano, lekin khudh pe vishwas karo.” (This match will happen. It would be a shortened game, but don’t think that god will come and win you the game. You will need to do everything on your own. He says have faith in god, but have belief in your own self too),” Ishant concluded.