Suresh Raina names ‘next MS Dhoni of India cricket team

What Mahendra Singh Dhoni has given to Indian cricket is beyond compare, which is probably why the mind goes bare when you have to think of a name as a replacement for the former Indian skipper.

Having said that, Suresh Raina, who is one of the closest to MS Dhoni, has identified the Indian cricketer in whom he sees traits of his CSK’s captain. And player is non other than Rohit Sharma.

Suresh Raina is of the opinion that Rohit Sharma has amazing credentials as captain. The CSK player, who has played under the captaincy of MS Dhoni and also under Rohit, called the Indian opener the ‘next MS Dhoni,’ which might sound very ambitious, but makes you contemplate later.

“I would say he is the next MS Dhoni for the Indian cricket team,” Raina said on The Super Over Podcast. “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.

“He thinks everyone is a captain. I have seen him; I have played under him when we won the Asia Cup in Bangladesh. I have seen how he gives confidence to young players like Shardul Thakur, Washington Sundar and Yuzvendra Chahal of course.”

The Indian opener has the record to prove Raina right. Rohit is one of the most successful captains in the history of Indian Premier League (IPL) having guided the Mumbai franchise to a record four titles in eight years.

Apart from that, every time that Virat Kohli is rested or injured, Rohit has stepped up to the challenge of captaincy, leading India to wins at the 2018 Nidahas trophy and the Asia Cup.

Rohit Sharma has led India in 10 ODIs, winning eight of them and 20 T20Is, out of which the team has won 16. Other than that, Suresh Raina believes Rohit’s aura naturally allows players under him to do well.

“Around him, players enjoy the intensity, they enjoy his aura. I think when you enjoy the aura of a player, you like to be positive and I think that is what he is good at,” Raina said.

“He is one of the top-most, after MS Dhoni, who was brilliant. He has won more [IPL] trophies than MS, but I would say they both are very similar. Both of them, as a captain, like to listen. When your captain is listening, you can solve a lot of problems, you can solve the mental problems of the players. So in my book, they both are wonderful.”

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