Former India batsman Suresh Raina has revealed that some players in the Indian cricket team told him that Rohit Sharma has the same level of respect as MS Dhoni used to have.
Ever since Rohit Sharma started having success with the Mumbai Indians, his demeanor, calm attitude, and proactive thinking have been likened to the same characteristics of MS Dhoni, the 3-time ICC trophy and 5 IPL trophy-winning captain.
Rohit Sharma became the first captain to win 5 IPL trophies, and then in early 2022 became India’s full-time captain across the three formats, taking over the reins from Virat Kohli. Rohit and Dhoni certainly have different demeanor from Kohli, and they all have had success with their own style and methods.
Suresh Raina, who spent a large chunk of his career playing under Dhoni for India and for CSK, revealed that the players respect Rohit Sharma as much as they do MS Dhoni.
“Whenever I use to talk with players they use to say Rohit has the same respect as Dhoni – Rohit has been very friendly in dressing room,” Suresh Raina said on Sports Tak.
Rohit Sharma is the next MS Dhoni for the Indian cricket team: Suresh Raina
Another factor which is similar in the captaincy and leadership of Dhoni and Rohit is giving proper backing to the players in whom they see talent and potential to win games. For example, Dhoni backed Rohit for a long time before Rohit started giving consistent results. Similarly, Rohit back Kuldeep Yadav and brought him back in the ODI side after he was dropped and struggled for a two-year period.
Earlier, Raina had declared that Rohit is the next Dhoni, hinting that Rohit could bring India the World Cup 2023 trophy.
“I would say he is the next MS Dhoni for the Indian cricket team,” Raina had said earlier. “I have seen him, he is calm, he likes to listen, he likes to give confidence to the players and on top of that, he likes to lead from the front. When the captain leads from the front and at the same time, he gives respect to the dressing room atmosphere, you know you have it all.
Rohit Sharma has started the World Cup 2023 with a bang. After being dismissed for a duck in the first match against Australia, the right-hander opener played two sensational innings against Afghanistan (131 runs in 84 balls) and Pakistan (86 runs in 63 balls).
