MS Dhoni is the only captain to win 100 plus matches in IPL.
Former India cricketer Virender Sehwag ranked Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper Rohit Sharma as the best IPL captain after Chennai Super Kings' (CSK) leader MS Dhoni.
Sehwag talked about Rohit after Mumbai's win over Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in Abu Dhabi by 49 runs. He liked the bowling changes made by Sharma to restrict KKR on 146/9 in a 196-run chase.
“I have always been saying that Rohit Sharma is the best captain in this tournament after MS Dhoni. The way he understands the game and makes tactical changes, it’s simply outstanding,” said Sehwag in an interview with Gaurav Kapur on Cricbuzz.
Sehwag was impressed with the way Rohit used Kieron Pollard when Dinesh Karthik and Nitish Rana were trying to rebuild KKR's innings.
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“Had there been any other captain instead of Rohit in the game against Kolkata, he would’ve used Krunal Pandya against Nitish Rana -- a move that would’ve backfired,” Sehwag added.
“Instead, Rohit put Pollard up against Rana and the West Indian kept the run-flow under check. Pollard’s timing also has to be noticed here. Had Rohit brought him against a set right-hander, he would’ve conceded more runs. Usually, Pollard concedes around 25 rouns in an over, but that wasn’t the case this time,” he added.
Former India batsman Ajay Jadeja also lauded Rohit and said his captaincy makes a difference in win and loss.
“Rohit put his best bowlers right at the start against Sunil Narine and didn’t let him open his hands. This is where the captaincy makes all the difference. In case of KKR, Dinesh Karthik did the opposite by keeping Cummins in reserve,” he said.
“While Rohit believes in dictating the play with his captaincy, Karthik found himself adjusting to the momentum of the game. In this aspect, Rohit is very similar to Dhoni,” Jadeja added.