Dhoni Vs Virat

MS Dhoni vs Virat Kohli is the biggest debate of Indian cricket fans and fans the world over in recent times. While MS Dhoni has been the most successful captain in Indian cricket with an immense record of wins and trophies, Virat Kohli has been one of the most successful and in-form cricketers in world cricket. While both cricketers have played their respective roles very well, when it comes to the Kohli vs Dhoni debate, their captaincy approach and records are often under scrutiny. They both are among the favorites of fantasy cricket players around the world due to their skills on the field.

Dhoni vs Kohli Stats Comparison




Cricket is a religion in India. Let be India’s historic ICC World Cup 2011 win or Sachin Tendulkar’s iconic poke towards point to complete an ODI double hundred. Indian fans come to a standstill whenever cricket takes precedence in the country.


However, such a big sport always leaves room for debate – be it between fans of different countries, teams or even players. While every Indian cricket fan can agree upon Sachin Tendulkar being the best in Indian cricket history, there is one debate that keeps ongoing. The debate around Dhoni vs Kohli.


The Dhoni vs Kohli debate isn’t new to the scene. Ever since the retirement of the great Sachin Tendulkar, there has always been the debate around who is the best in the country at that point. The cricket fans all over the world have been asking the question, who is better batsman Dhoni or Kohli? Here is an unbiased comparison over the debate revolving around Dhoni vs Kohli whilst celebrating their glorified careers. Also, know about the dhoni vs Kohli records comparison & Vote Stats.


Before jumping into any conclusions, understanding both Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni and their careers is imperative.


MS Dhoni. Captain ‘Cool’





Perhaps the greatest wicket-keeper in white-ball history, MS Dhoni is a generational talent. Known for his calm and cool approach to the game, Dhoni is also one of the most successful captains in cricketing history.


Initially breaking out as a swashbuckling batsman, Dhoni made his mark with a knock of 148 against Pakistan in Vizag. Since then, Dhoni has become a focal point of India’s ODI set-up.


On the back of his ODI performances, he went on to lead India in the Test format as well to considerable success. Under Dhoni’s leadership, India won all there is to win with the ICC World Cup 2011 is the highlight of his career.


Currently taking a sabbatical from cricket, Dhoni is still regarded as the best finisher of the game with his calculated knocks often proving to be the difference in clutch games.


Despite being ridiculed for his lack of technique, Dhoni has revolutionized the sport in India. The following is his record in all three formats.


ODI: 350 matches, 10773 runs, 73 50’s, 10 100’s and the highest score of 183*
T20: 98 matches, 1617 runs, 2 50’s and the highest score of 56
Tests: 90 matches, 4876 runs, 33 50’s, 6 100’s and the highest score of 244



Dhoni’s cricketing achievements as captain are impressive. As already mentioned, Dhoni has led India to immense success. He led the Indian Test Team to the number one spot on the rankings and also lifted the Champions Trophy, ICC World Cup and the ICC T20 World Cup.


He is the only captain to do so in ICC events and has also enjoyed Test wins in Australia, South Africa, England and New Zealand. He has led the side to ODI series win in the overseas as well making him a highly rated captain. In addition, he has led Chennai Super Kings to three IPL titles, second to Rohit Sharma only.


Virat Kohli



On the other hand, we have Virat Kohli. Even the ones who opt against Kohli in a Kohli vs Dhoni vote would be aware of his glowing talent and ability. Virat Kohli is arguably the best batsmen in the world right now and is the current Indian captain.


His stats in all three formats is mind-blowing with the Delhi native in line to break Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 100 international tons. Like Dhoni, Virat Kohli is also a generational talent.


His ability to score runs at will and in the crunch moments make him a world-class player. Although he is known for his exploits in the white-ball formats, Kohli averages in excess of 50 in the Tests as well. Here are Virat Kohli’s career stats in all three formats.


ODI: 248 matches, 11867 runs, 58 50’s, 43 100’s and a highest of 183
Tests: 86 matches, 7240 runs, 22 50’s, 27 100’s and a highest of 254
T20I: 81 matches, 2794 runs, 24 50’s and the highest of 94


As a captain, Virat Kohli has enjoyed a decent amount of success. While Virat Kohli took up captaincy in the white-ball formats in 2017, he has led India to the knockouts in the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 and ICC Cricket World Cup in 2019.


With T20I series whitewashes in West Indies and New Zealand, Kohli has proved himself to an extent and has also led India to the number one spot in the Test rankings. However, his inability to lead neither India nor RCB in the IPL to a trophy still haunts him.


While he did lead the U-19 side to the trophy in 2008, Virat Kohli will be eyeing an ICC trophy in the near future as captain.


With a brief history of how their careers as a batsman and a captain have panned out, the Kohli vs Dhoni debate can be divided into a few sections – popularity, captaincy record, personal stats and captaincy approach.


The popularity of Dhoni and Virat Kohli




There have been countless Dhoni vs Kohli debates and even Kohli vs Dhoni voting posts. However, it is fair to say that both individuals have huge popularity amongst the public. While Kohli’s looks and ability to churn out runs like Sachin makes him a huge hit among the public, Dhoni relies on bravado and clutch moments. Dhoni’s CSK is arguably the most popular team in the IPL with the CSK captain being nicknamed ‘Thala’. In a Dhoni vs Kohli IPL popularity contest, Dhoni might edge the current Indian captain although both of them are neck and neck in this section.


Dhoni vs Kohli Captaincy Record




The Dhoni vs Kohli debate ebbs from the fact that both of them are quite successful as captains of the Indian team. With the competitive spirit of the Indian fans, a debate on Dhoni vs Kohli captaincy record was always on the cards. In the Test format, Kohli edges his predecessor in some way.


In 39 matches as captain, Kohli has won 23 matches. With test victories in Australia and South Africa, Kohli has brought out a new attacking approach among the Test players. On the other hand, Dhoni is quite the opposite in terms of approach.


The wicket-keeper batsman led the side in 60 Tests with 27 of them being wins for India. It has to be noted that Dhoni led the side during a phase of transition where the big four of Tendulkar, Laxman, Dravid and Ganguly retired. Kohli inherited a solid bowling attack which reaped rich dividends in overseas series.


As for the ODIs, Dhoni will get the nod owing to his tactical nous and superior record.


At a time when India came off a shocking 2007 ICC World Cup knockout exit, Dhoni built an all-conquering team which resulted in a World Cup trophy in 2011. Dhoni came close in 2015 as well as India exited in the semi-finals. In 199 ODIs as captain, Dhoni won 110 games while four of them ended as a tie. Similarly in the T20s, he led the side in 72 games with 41 wins and a T20 World Cup to show for his efforts.


Kohli, on the other hand, has won 62 games in just 89 matches although he doesn’t have a trophy to show for his team’s efforts.


His win percentage of 71.83 ranks in the top three for Indian captains although a superior pace attack at the helm makes his job easier.


He has a formidable record in T20s as well with 22 wins in 37 games. Although Dhoni has the more trophies, Kohli’s record on paper as captain makes him a highly successful captain.


Personal Stats and Captaincy Approach




Although Dhoni vs Kohli Captaincy Record ODI is tilted towards Virat, people often miss the context and the background of their captaincy reigns. Mahendra Singh Dhoni assumed a young team and had to build a team from scratch during the 2011-15 cycle.


While the 2011 squad didn’t have bowling strengthen when compared to that of England and Australia, India managed to neutralize them with Dhoni’s ability to handle the spinners nicely. In addition to his exceptional keeping ability, Dhoni is a master of the middle overs with Ashwin, Kuldeep and Jadeja often reaping the rewards of Dhoni’s tact.


Dhoni is known for his tendency to back youngsters in the crucial overs. In addition, he isn’t afraid to take the blame on himself. In two out of Dhoni’s three ICC trophy-winning campaigns, he chose to back youth over experience in the last over.


While Joginder Sharma held his nerve in 2007 against Pakistan, Ishant Sharma did his captain proud in the ICC Champions Trophy final in 2013. His mere presence and knack of anticipating the opposition plans make him a world-class captain.


His successor, Virat Kohli may be the better batsman, technique-wise and on paper. His stats speak for himself. However, there are a lot of doubts about his captaincy.


Virat Kohli hasn’t won a major trophy so far and his stint as RCB captain hasn’t been successful as well. Although Kohli comes close to Dhoni in the internationals, a Dhoni vs Kohli IPL debate is a mismatch.


Dhoni has led CSK to a playoff finish in every IPL whereas RCB has critically underachieved in spite of having the ammunition to win the IPL.


Upon retrospection, the ideal answer for a Dhoni vs Kohli debate would be that both of them are different players and shouldn’t be compared. However, this cliched answer hides the fact that Virat Kohli is a better batsman than MS Dhoni and the vice-versa in terms of captaincy.


While there may be claims of Dhoni getting more runs if he were to bat higher up the order, his technique against the new ball is something that is still not proven.


Although he could have succeeded, a player such as Virat Kohli has plundered oppositions consistently and is currently on course to owning most major run-scoring records on offer. However, Virat Kohli, the captain has a lot of room for improvement.


While his record suggests otherwise, a captain’s ability shines in the clutch games where Virat Kohli hasn’t stood up, as Dhoni or even Rohit Sharma has in recent years.


With time on his side, Virat Kohli could end his ICC Trophy hoodoo as captain. Until the then, he still remains in the shadow of MS Dhoni as a captain although all eyes will be upon Virat Kohli, the world’s best batsman.


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