Today, let’s talk about the debate MS Dhoni vs Virat Kohli. Indian Cricket has seen cricketers coming out and becoming the heartthrob of fans during their career before hanging their boots. There have been different era of Cricket and so have been the era of captaincy. While the two Indian Cricketers have played their roles pretty well, their captaincy approach is often under debate. Here, we get into the MS Dhoni vs Virat Kohli debate, as Cricketers & as Captains.
MS Dhoni vs Virat Kohli as Cricketers
While Dhoni has been the wicket-keeper batsman the Indian team has been looking for years, Kohli has been a run-scoring top order batsmen which the Indian team was never devoid of. But is that all, let’s see what their batting stat says.
Test Cricket
The Truest format, as the purist would call it, is seen as the format which does justice to the talent an individual possesses. Here, we try to see how the MS Dhoni vs Virat Kohli competition hold in terms of stat.
| Stat | MS Dhoni | Virat Kohli |
|---|---|---|
| Match | 90 | 86 |
| Innings | 144 | 145 |
| Runs | 4876 | 7240 |
| Avg | 38.09 | 53.62 |
| Hundred | 6 | 27 |
| Fifty | 33 | 22 |
| Best | 224 | 254* |
The stat looks sided towards Kohli if we consider “batting” as the only aspect to compare the two. But as soon as we add wicket-keeping and fielding of the two cricketers, the stat turns a bit towards Dhoni. While Dhoni has 256 catches & 38 Stumpings to his credit as a Wicket-keeper, Kohli as a fielder has 82 catches to his name. So, on impact base, Dhoni looks better in the comparison MS Dhoni vs Virat Kohli. Yes, both are electrifying fielders for sure. Who do you think as better here?
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ODI Cricket
In the longer among the two limited overs formats, the comparison of MS Dhoni vs Virat Kohli is drawn below.
| Stat | MS Dhoni | Virat Kohli |
|---|---|---|
| Match | 350 | 248 |
| Innings | 297 | 239 |
| Runs | 10773 | 11867 |
| Avg | 50.57 | 59.33 |
| SR | 87.56 | 93.25 |
| Hundred | 10 | 43 |
| Fifty | 73 | 58 |
| Best | 183* | 183 |
The stat here too looks pretty much sided towards Kohli if we consider “batting” as the only aspect to compare the two. And we shouldn’t forget the “fastest to” milestones, in fact, several of those to his name. But as soon as we add wicket-keeping and fielding of the two cricketers, the stat turns a bit towards Dhoni. While Dhoni has 321 catches & 123 Stumpings to his credit as a Wicket-keeper, Kohli as a fielder has 128 catches to his name. But here, on impact base, Kohli looks slightly better in the comparison MS Dhoni vs Virat Kohli. Who do you think as better here?
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T20I Cricket
In the shortest format of International cricket, Kohli again leads the comparison of MS Dhoni vs Virat Kohli as shown below.
| Stat | MS Dhoni | Virat Kohli |
|---|---|---|
| Match | 98 | 82 |
| Innings | 85 | 76 |
| Runs | 1617 | 2794 |
| Avg | 37.60 | 50.80 |
| SR | 126.13 | 138.24 |
| Hundred | ||
| Fifty | 2 | 24 |
| Best | 56 | 94* |
Here too, the wicketkeeping adds points to Dhoni’s numbers and get him close to what Kohli has been in his career so far. While Dhoni has 57 catches & 34 Stumpings to his credit as a Wicket-keeper, Kohli as a fielder has 41 catches to his name. These numbers add more confusion to the comparison MS Dhoni vs Virat Kohli. Who do you think as better here?
Indian Premier League
In Indian Premier League T20, MS Dhoni is way ahead on batting average, but behind on runs, but again gets better as soon as the wicket-keeping numbers are added. Who do you think as better here?
| Stat | MS Dhoni | Virat Kohli |
|---|---|---|
| Match | 190 | 177 |
| Innings | 170 | 169 |
| Runs | 4432 | 5412 |
| Avg | 42.20 | 37.84 |
| SR | 137.85 | 131.61 |
| Hundred | 5 | |
| Fifty | 23 | 36 |
| Best | 84* | 113 |
MS Dhoni vs Virat Kohli as Captains
Test Cricket
As Captain, Kohli has already overpassed MSD as the most successful captain in the longest format, overall. Who do you rate as better?
| Stat | MS Dhoni | Virat Kohli |
|---|---|---|
| Match | 60 | 55 |
| Wins | 27 | 33 |
| Loss | 18 | 12 |
| Draw | 15 | 10 |
| Win % | 45 | 60 |
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ODI Cricket
In Onedayers, on win percentage, Virat Kohli is currently the most successful Indian captain, eclipsing all. But on match numbers, Kohli has captained less than half the number of matches Dhoni led India. So, still a lot to happen there on this stat.
| Stat | MS Dhoni | Virat Kohli |
|---|---|---|
| Match | 200 | 89 |
| Wins | 110 | 62 |
| Losses | 74 | 24 |
| Tied | 5 | 1 |
| No Results | 11 | 2 |
| Win % | 59.5 | 71.8 |
Plus, the two ICC trophies under his captaincy make Dhoni even better. Dhoni has overall played two world cups under his captaincy, winning one. Kohli captained India in the Cricket World Cup 2019 where India wouldn’t go beyond Semifinals.
In ICC Champions Trophy, he won one out of two editions he led India into. Kohli had captained in 2017 edition which Pakistan won, defeating India in the final. In Asia Cup, Dhoni has led India 4-times in 50-overs version, winning the tournament once. Kohli is yet to captain India in this tournament.
Read also: Is Steve Smith Better than Virat Kohli in Test Matches?
T20I Cricket
In the shortest format of International cricket, Kohli again leads the comparison of MS Dhoni vs Virat Kohli as shown below.
| Stat | MS Dhoni | Virat Kohli |
|---|---|---|
| Match | 72 | 37 |
| Wins | 41 | 22 |
| Losses | 28 | 11 |
| Tied | 1 | 2 |
| No results | 2 | 2 |
| Win % | 59.2 | 65.7 |
In the ICC T20 World Cup, Dhoni has led India in all six editions, winning one- the inaugural edition. Kohli is yet to captain India in this tournament. In Asia Cup T20, Dhoni has led India once, winning the tournament. Kohli is yet to captain India in this tournament.
Indian Premier League
In Indian Premier League, MS Dhoni is the most successful captain, with his team featuring in 11 finals out of 12 finals so far. Virat Kohli has captained RCB in 8 seasons, with the best performance being the runners-up in 2016.
| Stat | MS Dhoni | Virat Kohli |
|---|---|---|
| Match | 174 | 110 |
| Wins | 104 | 49 |
| Losses | 69 | 55 |
| Tied | 2 | |
| No Results | 1 | 4 |
| Win % | 60.1 | 47.1 |
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MS Dhoni vs Virat Kohli- Overall
On Overall base, MS Dhoni is the most successful captain, India had, if we consider the major tournaments only. Kohli comes close to him if the parameter is match wins. As a team-member Virat Kohli has been among the most successful cricketers of this generations, but when MS Dhoni has the second dimension added to his profile, comparison becomes close. We, however, leave it to you to decide who’s better in MS Dhoni vs Virat Kohli. Who you side your verdict with?
#स्पोर्ट्सक्रंच: क्या हो जाना चाहिए महेंद्र सिंह धोनी को रिटायर? https://t.co/ItMIgZIWGS
— SportsCrunch (@SportsCrunch) June 8, 2020