5 Top players which MS Dhoni gave to Virat Kohli

3. Hardik Pandya

Hardik Pandya is probably the best T20 all-rounder ever played for India. He made both of his ODI and T20 debut under Dhoni and he has praised him a lot of times for his success as well. Pandya emerged from IPL while playing for Mumbai Indians and was known for his ability to hit sixes at will and his pace bowling ability too.

India, who has been looking for a replacement of Kapil Dev since the day he retired, saw a light in the IPL performance of Pandya. Dhoni backed him to the most and even gave him death overs in his first ICC event– 2016 T20 World Cup. When Kohli became captain, Pandya was young and dynamic but already had enough experience of international cricket to make him a contender for a finisher, as well as a fifth bowler in limited-overs cricket.

Under Kohli, Pandya was drafted into the Test side as well. His innings in 2017 Champions Trophy final was a memorable knock for all the Indians, though he was not able to take India over the line against Pakistan. Pandya’s ability to provide 10 overs in ODIs and excellent hitting ability from the very first ball made him a permanent member of the team and his power-hitting makes him the next potential finisher for India.