The discussion on who is closest to MS Dhoni has taken an interesting turn and this time, the answer is not Virat Kohli. Former India and CSK pacer Sudeep Tyagi believes Rohit Sharma is the player who reminds him the most of MS Dhoni, mainly because of a rare and powerful quality.

MS Dhoni’s golden captaincy and trophy cabinet

Recently, Tyagi had heaped praises on the legendary Indian wicketkeeper-batsman’s charisma, under whose leadership India won all ICC titles. These include the 2007 T20 World Cup, 2011 World Cup, 2013 Champions Trophy and multiple ICC Test Championship Scepters.

Dhoni also led the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) to five IPL titles. He took Indian cricket to the next level with his cool composure under pressure, superior strategic skills and intuitive decision-making. He also turned Kohli into one of the best captains of all time.

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The decisions that made Dhoni stand out

Praising the former India skipper’s leadership, Tyagi mentioned that it was his decision-making that made Dhoni truly special. The former pacer explained that Dhoni always knew what to do, when to do it and how fast to do it, especially in critical moments of the game.

Tyagi feels Dhoni has a special ability to stay calm when everything is chaotic. In a fast format like T20 cricket, where situations can change in a matter of seconds, Dhoni can think clearly and act quickly. The balance between a cool head and quick thinking is what makes him such a successful captain.

“This is a gift from God”

Sudeep Tyagi tells cricket fan“The decision-maker, I think his decision-making, like I told you, right time, right decision, what decision to take depending on the situation, he has a different art. You can say it’s a gift from God. And the decisions he makes, 90 percent of the time, they are successful.”

He continued: “It doesn’t always work out, but whatever I’ve seen, whenever I’ve played with him, his decisions in crucial moments have been his biggest strength. That’s why he’s won so many World Cups and IPL trophies. What you have to do in crucial moments and how fast you have to do it, is very important. As they say in cricket, T20 is a fast game. You have to think quickly about what to do and what to do. So, that’s what makes him a different captain.”

Also read: MS Dhoni issues serious warning to Gautam Gambhir ahead of 2026 T20 World Cup

Why Rohit Sharma reminds Sudeep Tyagi of MS Dhoni

Furthermore, Tyagi pointed out that he has not seen this level of decision-making in any other captain, but Rohit’s calm nature and wise choices in crunch situations reminded him of Dhoni, even as the legendary wicketkeeper-batsman remains in a league of his own.

He added, “I think this quality, I haven’t seen in other captains yet. I see it a little bit in Rohit and he has these qualities. But what makes him the best is his decision-making ability.” Notably, Rohit also won the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy and the 2024 T20 World Cup as captain.

MS Dhoni’s Ravichandran Ashwin makes bold appeal

Well, Tyagi recalled Dhoni’s bold move of asking Ravichandran Ashwin to bowl with the new ball in T20 cricket and said the former India captain was never afraid to try something different as long as he believed it would work.

He concluded by saying, “The most important thing – and you must have seen it in T20s – Mahi Bhai bowled for the first time with spinner Ashwin and the new ball. It was shocking for us and the world that spinner Ashwin bowled with the new ball; this has happened before but this is a rare case.”