Former India opener Virender Sehwag termed Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma the best captain in the IPL after CSK’s MS Dhoni.

Sehwag’s comments came after Rohit starred in MI’s thumping 49-run win against Kolkata Knight Riders in Abu Dhabi.

Sehwag, who had rated Dhoni’s captaincy against RR 4 out of 10, hailed the bowling changes Rohit made when KKR were chasing 196.

“I have always been saying that Rohit Sharma is the best captain in this tournament after MS Dhoni. The way he understands the game and makes tactical changes, it’s simply outstanding,” said Sehwag in an interview with Gaurav Kapur on Cricbuzz.

Sehwag pointed out how Rohit introduced Kieron Pollard into the attack when Dinesh Karthik and Nitish Rana had just started to build a partnership for KKR after two early wickets.

“Had there been any other captain instead of Rohit in the game against Kolkata, he would’ve used Krunal Pandya against Nitish Rana — move that would’ve backfired,” Sehwag added.

“Instead, Rohit put Pollard up against Rana and the West Indian kept the run-flow under check. Pollard’s timing also has to be noticed here. Had Rohit brought him against a set right-hander, he would’ve conceded more runs. Usually, Pollard concedes around 25 rouns in an over, but that wasn’t the case this time,” he added.

Former India cricketer Ajay Jadeja echoed Sehwag’s views and termed Rohit pretty similar to Dhoni.

“Rohit put his best bowlers right at the start against Sunil Narine and didn’t let him open his hands. This is where the captaincy makes all the difference. In case of KKR, Dinesh Karthik did the opposite by keeping Cummins in reserve,” said Jadeja.

“While Rohit believes in dictating the play with his captaincy, Karthik found himself adjusting to the momentum of the game. In this aspect, Rohit is very similar to Dhoni,” Jadeja added.