"His teammates connect with him very well" - Harbhajan Singh says Rohit Sharma is a better captain than MS Dhoni
Former Team India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh recently picked Rohit Sharma as a better captain than MS Dhoni. Explaining the reason behind his choice, he discussed the contrasting leadership styles of the two proven skippers.
Harbhajan noted that Sharma's ability to connect with the players sets him apart from the rest. The cricketer-turned-commentator suggested that Dhoni, on the other hand, let his silence do most of the talking.
Speaking in an interview with Sports Yaari, Harbhajan said:
"I chose Rohit above Dhoni because Rohit is people’s captain. He goes up to the people and asks them what they want. His teammates connect with him very well. But Dhoni’s style was different. He didn’t talk to anyone. He wanted to convey his thoughts through his silence. It was his way of communicating with others."
It is worth mentioning that MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma are the most successful captains in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL), with five title victories each as skipper. In international cricket, Dhoni remains the only captain to have won all three ICC trophies in the white-ball formats.
Sharma clinched his maiden ICC trophy with India's 2024 T20 World Cup triumph. Under his leadership, the Men in Blue reached the 2023 ODI World Cup final and the 2023 World Test Championship (WTC) final. While he was also the Indian captain in the WTC final in 2022, Virat Kohli was the skipper for most of the cycle.
"He doesn't have any enemies" - Harbhajan Singh on Rohit Sharma's career
In the aforementioned interview, Harbhajan Singh opined that Rohit Sharma's best quality is that the has made a lot of friends amid his climb to the top. He pointed out that there's no player who has spoken anything negative about the star batter.
Harbhajan said:
"The best thing is that he throughout his career, he has made a lot of friends while climbing up. He doesn't have any enemies. All the guys are still with him and you won't see anyone speak anything bad about him."
The Rohit Sharma-led Indian side completed a 2-0 whitewash in the recently concluded home series against Bangladesh. He will next be seen in action during the team's upcoming three-match Test series against New Zealand, which will begin on October 16 in Bengaluru.