5 things that might not have happened in Indian cricket were it not for MS Dhoni

#2 Rohit Sharma might not have become the modern-day batting great he is today

Rohit Sharma is a modern-day ODI batting great

Leading up to the 2013 Champions Trophy, Rohit Sharma's form was majorly under the scanner. When MS Dhoni promoted him to the top of the order in his comeback game, the decision was met with a lot of criticism due to Sharma's rather careless-appearing attitude towards batting.

However, MS Dhoni's move has now become one of the greatest in Indian cricket history. Since becoming an opener, Rohit Sharma averages over 55 - no one else is even close, with Hashim Amla next on the list with 49.89. He went on an incredible limited-overs run, culminating in a fruitful 2019 World Cup campaign, where he scored 5 tons.

The only man who has rivalled the Mumbai Indians skipper is a certain Virat Kohli......

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#1 Virat Kohli might not have become MS Dhoni's successor as Indian captain

Indian skipper Virat Kohli is already in the GOAT conversation

Virat Kohli's talent was never in doubt, given that he had led the Indian U-19 side to a World Cup triumph in 2008. However, he found himself out of the Test side after a rough patch against the West Indies in 2011, and it needed the complete backing of captain MS Dhoni to get him back into the Test side for the tour Down Under in 2012.

Kohli had a great series although the team was whitewashed, and was the only Indian batsman to score a century. MS Dhoni also backed the Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper during the latter's abysmal tour of England in 2014, where he scored only 134 runs in 10 innings.

Were it not for these brave calls by MS Dhoni, we might now be seeing a different man at the helm of the Indian team, and Virat Kohli might not have become one of the greatest cricketers to have ever played the game.

Speaking of the support he received, Kohli himself said:

"I don't think the selectors appointed me as India captain suddenly. They probably had MS Dhoni as a sounding board before giving me the reins. I believe Dhoni played a big role in me getting the India captaincy."

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