Gone are the days when we used to have a debate on the most successful Indian captain category between Sourav Ganguly and MS Dhoni. We all know from which point Ganguly re furnished Indian cricket from the early 2000’s to the next few years. Dada guided the men in blues to the NatWest trophy win in England alongside reaching the world cup final in 2003.
Who is better, Dhoni or Kohli?
Dhoni’s numbers are a bit more special because he won all ICC trophies. After he left captaincy Kohli’s era began in Indian cricket. Most fans will be saying that Kohli was nowhere near successful where Dhoni took Indian cricket. But here we will get a little surprise when we will see the numbers.
Is Kohli a better captain than Dhoni?
Test cricket
Captaincy in Tests
Stat | MS Dhoni | Virat Kohli |
Match | 60 | 65 |
Wins | 27 | 38 |
Loss | 18 | 16 |
Draw | 15 | 11 |
Win % | 45 | 58.46 |
We can clearly see the win percentage is better of Kohli than Dhoni in red ball cricket. Kohli guided India to 38 test wins in 65 games he captained. Unfortunately he couldn’t bring in the ICC WTC home losing it to the Kiwis.
Captaincy in ODIs
Stat | MS Dhoni | Virat Kohli |
Match | 199 | 95 |
Wins | 110 | 65 |
Losses | 74 | 27 |
Tied | 4 | 1 |
No Results | 11 | 2 |
Win % | 55.28 | 70.43 |
Dhoni captained India in the ODI almost double the numbers that Kohli did. Dhoni also won the ICC Cricket World Cup in 2011 alongside winning the Asia Cup in 2010 and ICC Champions Trophy in 2013. Something Kohli failed to do in the whole of his captaincy career. Here we have a clear winner in MSD.
Captaincy in T20s
Stat | MS Dhoni | Virat Kohli |
Match | 72 | 50 |
Wins | 41 | 30 |
Losses | 28 | 16 |
Tied | 1 | 2 |
No results | 2 | 2 |
Win % | 56.94 | 64.58 |
India won the inaugural T20 world cup in 2007 under MS Dhoni’s watch, a special feat in the cricket history of India. Kohli had his chance to win it in 2021, but India saw themselves out from the group stages under Kohli who announced he will leave captaincy just before the event. Needless to say, numbers always doesn’t show the fact.
Dhoni vs Kohli in IPL
MS Dhoni has played a total of 234 matches in the IPL so far, scoring 4978 runs. The former Indian skipper has an average of 39.20 at a strike rate of 135.20, with a career-best of 84*. The CSK captain has won the IPL four times. His win record as a captain is the best in the tournament, with a success rate of 58.85%. Dhoni has won 123 games, while he has lost 86 with one match having no result.
Virat Kohli or as he is very fondly known in India, King Kohli, has played a total of 223 matches. He has scored 6624 runs in this tournament in 215 innings. The King has an average of 36.20, with a strike rate of 129.15. Though he is the best in the world at present, MS Dhoni beats him in this tournament. On the other hand, Kohli has captained RCB in 140 games, winning 64 and losing 69, with three tied matches and four having no result. His win percentage in this domestic cup competition is 48.16.
