MS Dhoni vs Rohit Sharma: Stats & Beyond

The debate of MS Dhoni vs Rohit Sharna is decades old now with fans of the cricket-crazy Indian nation often dabbling in cricket stats to win the argument. While MS Dhoni has been the most successful captain of the Indian cricket team, Rohit Sharma has been one of the greatest batters ever graced with the sport of cricket. 

So, who is better: Dhoni or Rohit? Let’s take a tactical deep dive with cricket practicality guiding our argument. 

MS Dhoni might have been a phenomenal player and an even better thinker of white-ball cricket, but the wicket-keeper batsman didn’t bode well in the game's longest format. Despite batting in the middle-order for the majority of his Test career, when the conditions are perfectly known and the task is often cut out for batsman, Dhoni could muster just 4876 runs in 90 games.

Unlike his ODI and T20I career that ended on a ceremonious note, Dhoni’s Test career ended quite underwhelmingly. He could average just 38.09 with just six centuries in red-ball cricket.

Rohit Sharma took time to cement his place in the Test side as he started from the fifth position and gradually got promoted to being the opener. Though Rohit has retired from T20I cricket, he looks to carry on in red-ball cricket for long. In 59 matches, Sharma has accumulated 4137 runs so far, as India heads to a home series against Bangladesh before the big Border-Gavaskar Trophy next year against Australia. 

Being the captain of the Indian white-ball cricket since the late 2000s, Dhoni went on to play 350 games until he finally hung his boots following the 2019 ODI World Cup. He accumulated 10773 runs in a career that spanned over 15 years with 10 centuries and 73 fifties to his name. While Dhoni cemented his place in the Indian team by scoring runs in the number three position, he established himself as the world’s best finisher coming in the middle-order.

Rohit Sharma, on the other hand, took time to cement a regular place in the ODI team despite making his debut in 2007. However, once he was on song there was no stopping the Hitman. His ability to send the ball over the rope with comparative ease has made him one of the best ODI batters ever and he led the Indian team to the 2023 ODI World Cup final as well. Sharma has 10866 tuns in 265 games so far with the ICC Champions Trophy coming up in 2025 next year.

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Though he will be almost 40 by the time India next play an ODI World Cup in 2027, Sharma is expected to be in contention for a place in the starting eleven. He has 31 centuries and 57 half-centuries in ODIs with a distinctive record of having the highest individual score of 264 runs in the 50-over format. He also boasts of three double-centuries in ODIs, a feat unlikely to be repeated. 

Though Dhoni became a household name across the globe by leading India to their first T20I World Cup in the inaugural edition of the tournament, he couldn’t accumulate many runs in the format. This was primarily because of his batting position that came lower down the order with his responsibilities more often than not being optimizing most of the death overs. Dhoni has 1617 runs in 98 games although he averages a decent 37.6.

Rohit Sharma, on the other hand, is the quintessential T20 batsman with flawless hitting abilities. Very few batters in the world possess the quality to exploit powerplay overs like Rohit Sharma does owing to his ability to anticipate bowlers. He has played 159 games and has 4231 runs in the format before he retired from T20I cricket. He jointly holds the record of scoring the most T20I centuries (5) with Australia’s Glenn Maxwell.

Both Rohit and Dhoni have been part of the Indian Premier League since the beginning and have played for two different teams. While Rohit Sharma started with Deccan Chargers before moving to Mumbai Indians, Dhoni played for Chennai Super Kings barring a brief stint with Pune Super Giants when CSK was banned.

Dhoni has been a wicket-keeper batsman since IPL’s inception and cemented his place as a finisher. He has 5243 runs in 264 games with an average of 39.12. Sharma, on the other hand, started as an all-rounder and a middle-order batsman before moving up to be a full-time opener. He has tallied 6628 runs in 257 games with an average of 29.72. He has two centuries in the T20 league as well.

By the time Rohit Sharma assumed the captaincy of Mumbai Indians in 2013, Dhoni had already established himself as the best captain of the league having taken CSK to playoffs and finals multiple times. Dhoni has won 123 games out of the 210 matches he captained with a win percentage of almost 59% in the domestic T20 league.

Rohit Sharma, on the other hand, has won 87 of the 158 games he captained with a win percentage of 55.06%. Both are no longer the captain of their respective teams although Sharma might return to lead a franchise in IPL 2025. Dhoni, on the other hand, has been given the responsibility of mentoring Ruturaj Giakwad to lead CSK in the coming years.

The Mumbai-lad has undoubtedly been a better Test captain compared to Dhoni. Though Sharma has led India in just 16 games so far, he has exhibited more leadership acumen and game-reading skills in the longest format of the game. He has a win percentage of 62.5% as compared to Dhoni’s 45%.

The Mumbai-lad has undoubtedly been a better Test captain compared to Dhoni. Though Sharma has led India in just 16 games so far, he has exhibited more leadership acumen and game-reading skills in the longest format of the game. He has a win percentage of 62.5% as compared to Dhoni’s 45%.

Though Dhoni has captained India to every ICC ODI title available - 2011 ODI World Cup and 2013 ICC Champions Trophy - Rohit Sharma isn’t far behind. Under Sharma’s leadership, India went almost unbeaten in the 2023 ODI World Cup, losing in the final, which makes Rohit Sharma one of the best skippers in the 50-over format.