Rohit Sharma or MS Dhoni?- Aakash Chopra, Sanjay Manjrekar, Ajit Agarkar pick the better IPL captain

Over the years, there’s been a constant debate about who between MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma is the better captain in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The duo, on Saturday, September 19, locked horns in the opening match of the 2020 IPL between Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians (MI) at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

CSK went into the game with a five-match losing streak against the Mumbai-based franchise. However, Dhoni and Co turned the tables, winning the game by five wickets and four balls to spare. In the meantime, former Indian cricketers Aakash Chopra, Sanjay Manjrekar and Ajit Agarkar tried to make their pick between Dhoni and Sharma.

Chopra didn’t have any hesitation while picking Dhoni, who he reckons, has delivered for the team more often than not. “Dhoni has been able to pull off more than the others have,” Chopra was quoted as saying on ESPNcricinfo.

Agarkar was spoiled for choices and lauded them for their leadership roles. “Both Rohit and Dhoni have had good teams to lead,” Agarkar said.

As per Manjrekar, Rohit is giving a stiff challenge to Dhoni. “Rohit is like a challenger to Dhoni when it comes to the IPL,” Manjrekar mentioned. The veteran said that at one point in time, MSD may have to answer as to why MI are winning more trophies than CSK.

MS Dhoni or Rohit Sharma – Who's the greater IPL captain? 👀@sanjaymanjrekar, @cricketAakash, @imAagarkar and the staff of ESPNcricinfo make their pick! #Runorder pic.twitter.com/0CtaHRqIYm

— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) September 19, 2020

MS Dhoni- the only skipper with 100 plus IPL wins

Dhoni has been playing in the IPL since the 2008 edition and has guided the Super Kings to the semis/playoffs on every other occasion. Under his captaincy, CSK have played eight finals and have won three of them. In 2019, they missed out agonisingly, losing to MI by a solitary run in Hyderabad. Dhoni has also led in the highest number of matches (175) in the IPL.

Moreover, he has 105 wins under his belt as captain- the highest by any skipper in the history of the IPL. Rohit, on the other hand, has 60 wins from 105 games as captain. MSD’s win-percentage of 60.34 is also higher than that of Rohit’s 58.09. Nevertheless, both are deemed as two of the best skippers to have played in the IPL.