5 players who have performed better in Test cricket under Virat Kohli than MS Dhoni

Few sports demand a captain to be as intuitive and proactive as cricket. Some of the others like football and basketball rely on managers, who use the control they have to make the necessary changes.

In cricket, though, those can come only through the captain, whose influence can help them become better players who can deliver with a greater level of consistency. One such leader at present is Virat Kohli under whom a few cricketers have shone more brightly than they did when they played under his predecessor MS Dhoni.

Although most of them did well under Dhoni, they seem to have added a new gear to their game under his successor, who has perhaps made them realize their true potential and add a bit more consistency into their games.

Here are five players who performances under Kohli have been better in Test cricket as compared to Dhoni so far:

Note: Players who have played a minimum of 10 matches under both captains have only been considered.

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#1 Shikhar Dhawan

The left-hander made his Test and ODI debuts under Dhoni and had contrasting outings in them. In the former, he blazed his way to a maiden hundred against Australia at Mohali while in the latter, against the same opposition, he was out for a duck.

While playing under Dhoni in Test cricket, Dhawan made 789 runs in 12 matches at an average of 64 with two centuries but under Kohli, his numbers have gone up by a notch, with 1257 runs in 17 matches at an average of 68 and four centuries to his credit.

The key difference seems to be the number of hundreds made. Dhawan could always score the fifties and sixties, but under Kohli, he is converting them into bigger scores whereas, under Dhoni, he made the odd significant score, but could not make it into a big one. His career was perhaps still under dormant phase but has evolved considerably now.

With a list of overseas assignments coming up in the second half of 2018, Dhawan's runs at the top of the order will be critical if India is to post big scores and he will look to improve upon his performances from last time around, this time.

#2 Mohammed Shami

Shami has evolved into a better bowler under Kohli but needs to remain a lot fitter

The fast bowler, who has had an up-and-down career so far ever since he began in 2013, has seen a significant improvement in his performance under Kohli as compared to Dhoni.

Shami played 10 Tests under Dhoni and took 38 wickets at an average of 36.63 and strike-rate of 59.5, but those numbers see a vast improvement while playing under his successor under whom in 20 matches, he has taken 72 wickets at an average 24.83 and a strike-rate of 46.8.

The difference is the fact that Shami seems to have developed a better control over his swing both with the new ball and the old ball. That was evident during the Johannesburg Test earlier this year when he ran through the South African line-up late in the innings with the semi-new ball after an indifferent start.

In the past, he has given Kohli wickets with the new ball as well and has come on his own with the older reverse-swinging ball.

#3 Umesh Yadav

Yadav's consistency has made him a better bowler under Kohli than Dhoni

There is an image of Umesh Yadav that always come to mind when you first think of him, which of him rattling Ricky Ponting's middle-stump at Perth on his first tour to Australia.

One hoped that under Dhoni, he would have been able to produce more such moments, but they came few and far between. Under his leadership, he played 10 matches and took 40 wickets at an average of 31.14 and strike-rate of 45.7, but under Kohli, he has picked up 52 wickets in 24 matches at an average of 39.44 and strike-rate of 71.7.

The key difference in him under Kohli has been his control. He's been a lot more consistent with his lines and that is evident from the drop in the economy rates. Under Dhoni, he went at 4.08 while that has dropped to 3.29 under Kohli, indicating that when he isn't taking wickets, he is building up the pressure for others to take wickets from the other end.

India would do well to keep him fit for he could be a handful in conditions where the ball decks around a bit.

#4 Ravindra Jadeja

Jadeja has improved dramatically as a bowler under Kohli in Test cricket

Jadeja's Test career can be split into two halves of two captains under whom he has been two different cricketers. Under Dhoni, he gained a lot of experience of bowling on different surfaces around the world as he often picked him as the lone spinner to play the holding role in the bowling attack.

That has been the difference under Kohli- Jadeja is now a strike bowler- and that is reflected in the numbers. In 12 Tests under Dhoni, he took 45 wickets and in comparison, he took 116 wickets under Kohli. There is a big difference in the averages as well, 30.37 under Dhoni as compared to 21.28. Strike-rate, too, has taken a massive dip with 76 under Dhoni to 55 under Kohli.

The numbers have improved because Jadeja has bowled a much better line. He is now looking to get the batsman while playing the cover drive, by inviting him forward and whereas an older version of him was thinking of runs and how he could cut it short to keep one end tight even as bowlers at the other end were bleeding them

He only plays red-ball cricket for India now with India preferring to pick two wrist spinners in white-ball cricket and he will be expected to deliver as he gets ready for a second trip to the Old Blighty in a month's time.

#5 Ravichandran Ashwin

Ashwin has been a revelation in the last few seasons

Perhaps, the most improved cricketer on this list. When Ravichandran Ashwin's career finishes, he would not be wrong to say he had a greater impact as a bowler while playing under Kohli, even though it was Dhoni who helped him settle down in Test cricket during the transitional phase that came in Indian cricket a few years ago.

The numbers reflect that, too. Under Dhoni, Ashwin played 22 matches and took 109 wickets at an average of 28.77 and a strike-rate of 59.8 while under Kohli, he has taken 193 wickets in 33 matches at an average of 23.13 and strike-rate of 48.3.

While most of his wickets under the latter have come in sub-continental conditions, there is a marked difference in the manner of dismissals. Like Jadeja, Ashwin, too, has looked to get the batsman by making him drive, looking to toss the ball up above his eyeline, making it to dip and deceive him with that whereas, under Dhoni, those aspects did come to the fore but not with the level of consistency that one would have hoped to see as it seemed evident that he tended to experiment a lot more rather than put more faith in his off-spinner.

He, too, has been preferred only in red ball cricket and will have a big role to play in the longer format of the game next month.