Rahul Dravid chooses Imran Khan over Virat Kohli, but MS Dhoni takes the ultimate captaincy crown: 'With what he did...'

Who's the greatest captain ever? Is it MS Dhoni ? Is it Virat Kohli ? Is it Ricky Ponting? Well, opinions have always been divided, and social media has always seen heated debate on the matter. But who does Rahul Dravid reckon sits at the pinnacle? Over the years, the sport has seen several characters emerge, each with a distinct style. Sir Clive Lloyd had his own mannerisms, while India has also had several memorable skippers who steered the ship through turbulent times.

Hence, it was no surprise to see Dravid put on the hot seat and asked to name which captain he prefers over the other. Eventually, the Wall concluded the game by naming MS Dhoni as the ultimate winner. The choice wasn't that alarming, as Dhoni has one of the most enviable records as skipper, having won the ODI World Cup, the T20 World Cup and the Champions Trophy. During his tenure, India also became the No.1-ranked team in the Test rankings.

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Dravid played under Dhoni for several years and saw the latter marshalling the troops from up close. The former India head coach chose the player from Jharkhand over the likes of Ricky Ponting, Steve Smith, Steve Waugh, Virat Kohli and Imran Khan.

Dhoni took over the ODI captaincy from Dravid after the latter stepped down following India's 2007 World Cup debacle, in which the Men in Blue crashed out in the group stage.

In a video shared by Cricinfo, Dravid played the game of ‘winner stays on’, and he initially chose Steve Smith over Ben Stokes, Pat Cummins, Arjuna Ranatunga, Kane Williamson, Graeme Smith, Eoin Morgan, Steven Fleming and Michael Clarke.

However, Dravid, who owns the Dublin Guardians in the ETPL, finally looked past Smith as Ponting's name popped up. The former Indian batter chose Ponting over Allan Border; however, he chose Steve Waugh next.

When Kohli's name popped up, Dravid chose him without breaking a sweat, but the Indian batter couldn't beat the 1992 World Cup-winning captain. While explaining his decision to choose Imran over Kohli, Dravid said, “For what he did, Imran Khan.”

The game then ended with Dhoni chosen ahead of Imran and Sir Clive Lloyd. It is worth noting that both Imran and Lloyd are regarded as two of the best leaders ever to play the sport. Under Lloyd, West Indies was the best team and won the World Cup in 1975 and 1979. However, Imran landed Pakistan its one and only World Cup triumph in 1992.

Vishesh Roy is a sports journalist with a strong focus on cricket. He began his career at Asian News International (ANI), where he covered a range of high-profile events, including the India Open, Legends Cricket League, the England–India Test series in Ahmedabad in 2021, and the inauguration of the Narendra Modi Stadium. During his tenure at ANI, he also reported extensively on domestic cricket, covering several Ranji Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy matches across the country. While cricket remains his primary beat, Vishesh has also reported on tennis, football and WWE.