Former India opener Gautam Gambhir believes that Indian skipper Virat Kohli cannot be compared to Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni when it comes to IPL captaincy. Rohit has led Mumbai Indians (MI) and MS Dhoni has lead Chennai Super Kings (CSK) to four and three Indian Premier (IPL) titles respectively, whereas the current Indian skipper has led Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) to IPL final only once in the 2016 season.

While talking to ESPN Cricinfo, Gambhir said, “I think he (Rohit) is probably right up there. He has won four IPL trophies and if you talk about IPL cricket, he is the most successful captain. He captained the team in Asia Cup and won it so he is probably next to Virat Kohli.”

Even this year, RCB had a terrible IPL 2019 season as they ended up at the bottom of the table with just 11 points to their name in 14 games. On the other hand, Rohit and MSD led their teams to yet another IPL final which resulted in Rohit’s MI claiming their fourth IPL title.

When asked about that, the 37-year-old said, “I have always maintained that you cannot compare Virat Kohli to Rohit Sharma or MS Dhoni. They are four-time and three-time champions (in the IPL) and you haven’t won the IPL. So, from the captaincy point of view, you can’t compare them. He (Rohit) is right up there at the top now and I think the whole country knows about it.”

According to Gambhir, Indian squad for the upcoming World Cup in England lacks one quality fast bowler, when asked about that, 2011 ICC World Cup winner replied, “I feel Indian team lacks one more quality fast bowler. Bumrah, Shami and Bhuvi need more support. You may argue that India has two fast bowling all-rounders in Hardik and Vijay Shankar but I am not convinced. In the end it boils down to getting the team combination right and sticking to it.”

(With ESPN Cricinfo inputs)