Ambati Rayudu – Former Indian cricketer Ambati Rayudu sparked debate among fans after placing Rohit Sharma above Virat Kohli in a blind captaincy ranking challenge. While Rayudu’s top pick, MS Dhoni, raised no eyebrows, it was his decision to place Kohli at number five that caught major attention.
The format of the challenge required Rayudu to assign ranks to Indian captains without knowing which name would appear next. He began by putting Sourav Ganguly in third place. The next name was Kapil Dev, the man who led India to its first World Cup in 1983, and Rayudu slotted him into the fourth position.
Rohit Sharma Earns Second Spot from Rayudu
When Rohit Sharma appeared as the third name, Rayudu quickly ranked him second, ahead of other modern-era skippers. His choice reflects their years of camaraderie in the Mumbai Indians and Indian national side, along with Rohit’s growing leadership reputation.
“𝑹𝒐𝒉𝒊𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒎 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆. 𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝑰𝑷𝑳 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒌𝒔 𝒗𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒎𝒆𝒔,” 𝑹𝒂𝒚𝒖𝒅𝒖 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒅𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒈𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕.
Next up was Virat Kohli, and Rayudu placed him fifth, just above Mohammad Azharuddin, who was ranked sixth. While Rayudu acknowledged Kohli’s excellence in red-ball cricket and bilateral dominance, he pointed out the absence of ICC trophies as a factor in his lower ranking.
“𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆’𝒔 𝒏𝒐 𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑽𝒊𝒓𝒂𝒕’𝒔 𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒖𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝑻𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒔. 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒉𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐𝒐,” 𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒅.
MS Dhoni Still on Top of Indian Captaincy Rankings
Unsurprisingly, MS Dhoni claimed the top spot in Rayudu’s list. The two shared a strong bond through years at Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Team India. Under Dhoni, India secured all three ICC white-ball titles – 2007 T20 World Cup, 2011 ODI World Cup, and the 2013 Champions Trophy. He remains the only captain in history to win all three major ICC tournaments.
Rayudu’s final list was:
- MS Dhoni
- Rohit Sharma
- Sourav Ganguly
- Kapil Dev
- Virat Kohli
- Mohammad Azharuddin
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