Rohit Sharma may have just received the biggest compliment of his career. Ravi Shastri, the former India coach, has place Rohit in the same bracket as the man he has looked up to, played under and owes a big part of his career to, MS Dhoni. By all regard, Rohit is a better batter compared to Dhoni… has been for the last decade, but to have his captaincy credentials mentioned in the same sentence as the only skipper with all three major ICC titles is a compliment Rohit will cherish his entire life.

Shastri, who monitored both Rohit and Dhoni during his time as India coach from 2015 to 2021, has nothing to separate the two when it comes to captaincy. Dhoni is arguably India's greatest captain, but Rohit, after leading to the T20 World Cup in June, has cemented his place in the very short list of India's World Cup winning captains – featuring Dhoni and Kapil Dev.

"As a tactician, let's not forget that he's been an outstanding guy. He'll go down as one of the best captains ever alongside Dhoni. If you ask me who's better, I'd say both are on par when it comes to tactics in the white-ball game. I can't pay a bigger compliment to Rohit than that because you know what MS has done and the titles he has won," Shastri said on the ICC Review Show.

Since taking over as India's full-time captain in November of 2021, Rohit started off slow – losing the 2022 Asia Cup and the T20 World Cup, but really picked up steam in 2023 – beating Australia in a Test series at home, winning the Asia Cup and leading India to a runner-up finish at the ODI World Cup – which by far is looked up to as India's most dominant and ruthless campaigns ever at the World Cup.

Rohit's tenure as captain since taking over

After leading India to a 1-1 Test draw in South Africa, the team also laid waste to England with a 4-1 thumping at home. However, Rohit's biggest moment as captain arrives in the USA and West Indies, where he led from the front. His knocks against Australia in the Super Eight and England in the semi-final proved crucial as India entered the final, having beaten the two teams that caused them heartbreaks in the previous two World Cups.

And in the final, the way Rohit marshalled his troops, such as giving Jasprit Bumrah the 16th over and making Hardik Pandya bowl the last one is what really impressed Shastri. That Rohit put his arms around Axar Patel's shoulders and told him to keep him chin up despite getting smashed for a 24-run over is Rohit's class as captain. What better way to go out of a format – categorised only for youngsters – than winning it at 37.

"Rohit is not far behind and I thought tactically he was just outstanding in this year's (T20) World Cup. Just the calmness, the ability to get a (Jasprit) Bumrah or a (Hardik) Pandya, or even an Axar Patel at just the right time when needed was great to see," he said.

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