MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma are the two latest India captains to win an ICC trophy during their leadership tenure. Dhoni began his captaincy by winning the inaugural edition of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup in 2007, clinched the ODI World Cup in 2011 and also helped India win the ICC Men's Champions Trophy in 2013.
On the other hand, Rohit guided India to their second T20 world title as the Men in Blue trumped South Africa in the summit clash of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024.
Several cricket pundits often compare the captaincy styles of Dhoni and Rohit and Harbhajan Singh is the latest to jump on the bandwagon.
The former India spinner has compared the captaincy of both leaders and said that there is a huge difference between their leadership styles.
“Dhoni and Rohit are completely different leaders,” said the 2011 World Cup-winning player on the podcast “Find a Way with Taruwar Kohli.”
“MS Dhoni will never go to a player and will ask him what field you want. He will let you learn from your mistakes,” said Harbhajan.
“I remember a game where I was fielding at the short fine leg and MS Dhoni was keeping. Shardul Thakur was bowling and the first ball Kane Williamson hit him down the ground for a boundary.
"Next ball, same length and Williamson played the same shot. I went to MS and asked him to tell Shardul try and bowl different length. MS said to me ‘Paji If I will tell him now, then he will never learn. Let him learn by himself.’ His thought process was that when Shardul will get hit for boundaries, he will learn it quickly. That was MS Dhoni’s way,” the former India spinner said while recollecting an incident from his playing days to narrate Dhoni's leadership style.
While talking about Rohit's leadership style, Harbhajan said that he is someone who talks to each and every player and lets them know what he expects out of them.
“Rohit is very different. He will go and talk to each player. He is someone who will put his arm around your shoulder and tell you what he wants from you. He will give you that confidence that yes you can do it,” he concluded.
