'Rohit Sharma, Any Day, Any Time...,' Harbhajan Singh On Comparison Between Dhoni and Rohit Sharma

MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma pose before a match (Twitter)

Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings are easily two of the most successful franchises in the history of IPL. The two teams alone share nine of the 15 titles that have been contested thus far, with Mumbai claiming five of them, all under Rohit Sharma’s leadership. Similarly, CSK legend MS Dhoni led the ‘Yellow Brigade’ to four IPL trophies since the inception of the tournament.

Former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh is one of the few cricketers to have played for both franchises. He started out as Mumbai Indians’ interim skipper in 2008 and spent his first 10 years there before shifting to CSK for the subsequent three seasons.

During his time in IPL, the legendary cricketer was part of an IPL-winning side on four occasions. He won three titles for Mumbai Indians alongside Sharma and one as an MS Dhoni drawcard in 2018.

Having shared loads of experience with both legendary IPL captains, Singh recently revealed his experience of bowling at both batting veterans during his playing career.

Harbhajan Singh says he had MS Dhoni’s number in IPL

While speaking on Star Sports, Harbhajan Singh praised Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni for their batting prowess in IPL cricket, and described the latter as one of the best finishers in the game.

Speaking about his personal experience as a bowler, the off-spinner stated that Rohit Sharma was more difficult to bowl at. He claimed that while he hardly bowled at MS Dhoni, he dismissed the wicketkeeper-batter whenever he had the opportunity.

“Rohit Sharma, any day, any time. Very difficult batsman to bowl to. I didn’t bowl a lot against Mahendra Singh Dhoni because by the time he came in to bat my spell was almost over. But no matter how little I’ve bowled, got him dismissed as well,”

Singh praised Sharma by adding that if the opener remains at the crease till the end, then there is no other player more impactful than him. He said:

“But Rohit Sharma, if we are talking overall, had a very big impact, a class player in terms of batting skill. Dhoni used to be a one of the most dangerous players in the game when he used to come in at the end as a finisher, but if Rohit bats from the beginning to the end, then there is no better player than him.”

Both Sharma and Dhoni are currently engaged to their franchise commitments for the ongoing IPL 2023 season. The two cricketers are scheduled to face each other on May 6 in a return fixture in Chennai.

---

ALSO READ

'To Give Me a Farewell...,' MS Dhoni Speaks About His Last Game At Eden Gardens

---