Harbhajan Singh compares the captaincy styles of MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma in T20s

Harbhajan Singh is one of the best spinners the world has seen in the past three decades. The off-spinner from Jalandhar became a hero for the Indian team in the early 2000s. However, since getting dropped from the national side, the spinner has left no stones unturned in domestic cricket. In the past decade, Harbhajan has established himself as one of the best bowlers in the IPL.

During this time, the 39-year-old has had the experience of playing under the two most successful IPL captains, Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni. Having played for Mumbai Indians from 2008 till 2017, Singh has seen IPL trophy wins with the franchise. In 2018, he moved to Chennai Super Kings and even found success there. With the CSK team, he won one more IPL trophy in 2018. In a recent interview, he spoke about the way in which Rohit and Dhoni conduct their captaincy.

Harbhajan Singh points out the similarities between Dhoni and Rohit’s captaincy

Talking about MS Dhoni, the off-spinner specifically said that the CSK skipper never really tells the bowler what to do. He revealed that Dhoni will let the bowler what he wants to do. It should be noted that, Harbhajan Singh played most of his later years in international playing under the leadership of MS Dhoni.

“He is not a captain who says, do this, do that. He wants you to do what you know you can do,” Harbhajan told ESPNCricinfo’s The Cricket Monthly in an interview. “Bowl what you know you can. If you can bowl six off-spinners, do that. Yes, he has nudged me at times – from behind the stumps or at the change of overs – saying, this guy is trying to do this or will try this. But he never tells me what to do,” Harbhajan added.

Comparing Dhoni’s tactics with that of Rohit, the off-spinner further pointed out that he never stays away from giving a bowler an attacking field. He also revealed that the Mumbai captain can go as long as having a Test match field if the bowler wants that.

“Rohit also gives a lot of freedom to the bowlers but thinks wickets at all times. He will not interfere with your bowling. If you want an attacking field, he will give it. It is not compulsory that if a left-hander comes, you get a slip whether the ball spins or not. Then at times, we have had a short leg and two slips,” Harbhajan said.