Indian cricketer Suresh Raina who has not seen in blue jersey for a quite long period names Rohit Sharma as the next Dhoni. Raina is also a great admirer of MS Dhoni who plays along with him in IPL for Chennai Super Kings.
Raina points Rohit’s leadership quality which almost looks similar to Dhoni’s style. Raina described India’s limited over vice-captain as a leader who tends to back the youngsters and listens to everyone in the dressing room.
“I would say he is the next MS Dhoni for the Indian cricket team,” Raina was said on The Super Over Podcast.
“I have seen him, he is calm, he likes to listen. He likes to give confidence to the players and on top of that, he likes to lead from the front. When a captain leads from the front and, at the same time, he gives respect to the dressing-room atmosphere, you know you have it all,” ESPN Cricinfo quoted him as saying.
“He thinks everyone is a captain. I have seen him, I have played under him when we won the Asia Cup in Bangladesh. I have seen how he gives confidence to young players like Shardul [Thakur], Washington Sundar, and [Yuzvendra] Chahal.”
“Around him, players enjoy the intensity, they enjoy his aura. When you enjoy the aura of a player, you like to be positive and I think that is what he is good at,” Raina added.
“MS Dhoni was brilliant. He [Rohit] has won more [IPL] trophies than MS, but they both are very similar. Both of them, as captains, like to listen. When your captain is listening, you can solve a lot of problems, you can solve the mental aspects of the players. So in my book, they both are wonderful.”
In 2019, Rohit overtook Dhoni to become the most successful captain in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Where Mumbai Indians beat Dhoni’s CSK in the 2019 finals and lifts the trophy for the fourth time while CSK won the IPL trophy three times in total.