5 Top players which MS Dhoni gave to Virat Kohli

Since the day Gautam Gambhir has claimed that Sourav Ganguly gave a team of match-winners to MS Dhoni but Dhoni hasn’t given much to Virat Kohli, there has been a staunch debate around the same.

Gambhir had pointed out that Ganguly left behind a bunch of talented cricketers like Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan who played a role in India’s 2007 World T20 and 2011 World Cup-winning campaign. However, Dhoni, according to Gambhir, ended his tenure without giving any quality players apart from Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah.

31 and 25 players debuted under Dhoni in One-day Internationals and Test cricket respectively. But how many of them have transformed themselves into match-winners? The influence of Dhoni has been such on Indian cricket that there is a whole era named after him but did his legacy benefit Virat Kohli?

Here are 5 players which MS Dhoni gave to Virat Kohli:

1. Ravindra Jadeja

Ravindra Jadeja is probably the best fielder India ever had. The Saurashtra stalwart came into limelight when he was a part of Rajasthan Royals which won the inaugural IPL in 2008. When he joined international cricket, he was preferred by Dhoni as he gave a finishing option at No. 6 or 7 and 10 confirmed overs.

Dhoni’s role in Jadeja’s success was very important; he was continuously giving instructions from behind the stumps which made Jadeja the impressive and consistent bowler he is today. When Jadeja entered Test cricket, he became a big thing right away as he had great control over the line and length and was a handy batsman as well. The left-hander can get quick runs and his energy in the field makes him one of the best fielders at the biggest level.

Jadeja under Dhoni and later under Kohli formed a formidable pair with Ashwin and this makes India’s defeat in home conditions almost impossible. He comes as a hard-hitting option at No. 6 or 7 in Tests and ODIs, which often comes very handy. His innings with Dhoni in the World Cup 2019 semi-finals was one of the finest displays of his batting ability. He is one of the best all-round options given by Dhoni to Virat.