MS Dhoni is quite laid back whereas Virat Kohli is expressive captain: Laxman Sivaramakrishnan

Virat Kohli took over the captaincy from MS Dhoni in two-fold steps. First, it was in early 2015, when Kohli was made the Test captain after Dhoni decided to retire from the longest format. Two years later, Kohli was handed over the job in the limited-overs format after Dhoni decided to quit the captaincy. Both players have very different styles of captaincy. However, it can not be denied that the duo has a great record while leading the Indian team.

In a recent interview, former Indian spinner Laxman Sivaramakrishnan talked about the styles of captaincy carried out by each of them. According to the cricketer turned commentator, having Dhoni as a captain is a great advantage for any bowler. He also pointed out that the Jharkhand wicketkeeper-batsman has a pretty laid back attitude while the Delhi batsman has a pretty aggressive attitude to captaincy.

Virat Kohli leads from the front: Laxman Sivaramakrishnan

“Both are different captains, Virat is more of an aggressive and expressive kind of captain and MS is quite laid back and you can hardly read from his facial expression and what his body is speaking about. But MS Dhoni is more of a bowlers’ captain which is a big advantage for any bowler,” Sivaramakrishnan told Times of India.

Kohli is yet to have an ICC Trophy under his belt. But, the last few years of captaincy has been great for him. He is already the most successful Indian Test captain. Under his captaincy, India has won 62 out of their 87 ODI matches. This gives him a great win percentage as a captain. It should also be noted that Kohli’s batting average while leading the Indian team is also quite fantastic.

“Virat Kohli is a very proactive and instinctive captain. It gives him a lot of energy and he is still getting better and better. The best part about Kohli as captain, he leads from the front, not only scoring runs with the bat but also the energy that he possesses. Virat Kohli is a livewire with his energy because he always has some ideas for bowlers. The approach is important but what is more important is the result,” the former spinner added.

The former spinner went on to compare the current India captain‘s attitude to that the Australian team from the past. The 31-year-old has also helped India win a Test series in Australia for the first time when they toured the country back in 2018-19.

“Virat Kohli doesn’t mind losing games because he plays to win. That’s what Australia did in the 90s and 2000s, that’s why they were so successful. You just want to go, try and win a game and in the process if you lose its part and parcel of the game,” he said.