A comparison between the captaincy tactics of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma

Virat Kohli has been the captain of Indian ODI side since last two years. He has been amazing with the bat during his captaincy tenure, which conveys a fact that captaincy pressure doesn't affect his batting. But, it has not been a smooth sailing for captain Kohli as his tactics are often under the scanner - his selection tactics in particular.

Talking about Rohit Sharma's captaincy, he has proven to be an excellent captain for his IPL franchise - Mumbai Indians. In absence of Virat Kohli, he got a golden opportunity in Asia Cup to put his credentials on the table as the captain of an Indian side.

Asia Cup is by no means a casual tournament like a series against Zimbabwe or any other minnow side, it is an important tournament which has established teams like arch-rivals Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Moreover, any tournament in which India plays Pakistan can never be taken for granted. So far, he has done a good job as a captain in the limited opportunities he has got.

Let us do a tactical comparison between Virat Kohli - current Indian captain and Rohit Sharma - the stand-in Indian captain for the Asia Cup:

Selection

Virat Kohli is known for making a lot of changes to his squads. His policy is horses for courses, which at times results in some selection choices which go against public opinion. Fast bowling spearhead, Bhuvneshwar Kumar's exclusion from the 1st Test squad in South Africa is a prime example of this strategy. It is a matter of debate whether this decision proved to be successful or not.

Rohit Sharma, on the other hand, appears to be a captain who believes in giving his players a long rope. His stint with Mumbai Indians and with the Indian team in the ongoing Asia Cup gives this impression. He did not tinker with the winning squad against Pakistan and Bangladesh. India played an experimental squad against Hong Kong and Afghanistan which is understandable given the context of these matches.

Personalities

Virat Kohli is an imposing personality who leads by example and plays a fiery brand of cricket. He expects his team to play in the same manner, his team's mannerism and behaviour bear the stamp of Virat Kohli all over. This approach backfires at times as there are some players who are subdued naturally and have played like this since childhood days. They are found in no man's land when they try to change their approach.

Sharma is calmer in his demeanour and lets his players express themselves. He seems to be a captain who doesn't interfere much in the way his players conduct themselves. He lets them play their natural game. Sharma doesn't seem to be an imposing captain and his personality doesn't seem to take over the team culture.

Conclusion

Its still early days to say a lot about Rohit Sharma the captain, but, whatever he has put on display during his brief stint, it definitely conveys one thing - Kohli and Sharma are two ends of the spectrum as far leading the Indian team is concerned.