5 players who have performed better in Test cricket under Virat Kohli than MS Dhoni
Few sports demand a captain to be as intuitive and proactive as cricket. Some of the others like football and basketball rely on managers, who use the control they have to make the necessary changes.
In cricket, though, those can come only through the captain, whose influence can help them become better players who can deliver with a greater level of consistency. One such leader at present is Virat Kohli under whom a few cricketers have shone more brightly than they did when they played under his predecessor MS Dhoni.
Although most of them did well under Dhoni, they seem to have added a new gear to their game under his successor, who has perhaps made them realize their true potential and add a bit more consistency into their games.
Here are five players who performances under Kohli have been better in Test cricket as compared to Dhoni so far:
Note: Players who have played a minimum of 10 matches under both captains have only been considered.
#1 Shikhar Dhawan
The left-hander made his Test and ODI debuts under Dhoni and had contrasting outings in them. In the former, he blazed his way to a maiden hundred against Australia at Mohali while in the latter, against the same opposition, he was out for a duck.
While playing under Dhoni in Test cricket, Dhawan made 789 runs in 12 matches at an average of 64 with two centuries but under Kohli, his numbers have gone up by a notch, with 1257 runs in 17 matches at an average of 68 and four centuries to his credit.
The key difference seems to be the number of hundreds made. Dhawan could always score the fifties and sixties, but under Kohli, he is converting them into bigger scores whereas, under Dhoni, he made the odd significant score, but could not make it into a big one. His career was perhaps still under dormant phase but has evolved considerably now.
With a list of overseas assignments coming up in the second half of 2018, Dhawan's runs at the top of the order will be critical if India is to post big scores and he will look to improve upon his performances from last time around, this time.