5 infamous coach-captain relationships that fell apart

#2 Sachin Tendulkar and Kapil Dev

Great players on their own, Sachin and Kapil were not able to form a good working chemistry between them

Two of the biggest legends in Indian cricket, Sachin Tendulkar and Kapil Dev never enjoyed their stint together in the Indian team. Kapil Dev was appointed the coach of the Indian team in 1999, during Sachin’s second term as India captain.

Success as a player and World Cup winning captain notwithstanding, his coaching stint did not get to the best of starts when India crashed to a heavy 0-3 defeat on the tour of Australia and ended quite soon, following the match-fixing saga that rocked Indian cricket in early 2000.

In his autobiography ‘Playing it My Way, Sachin Tendulkar gave an insight into his displeasure with Kapil’s methods as a coach and alleges the former India captain never involved in team discussions.

In the chapter titled - Tumultuous Times: India in Australia, November 1999 - January 2000, he writes, “During my second stint as captain, we had Kapil Dev as our coach. He is one of the finest cricketers to have played for India and one of the best all-rounders of all time, and I had great expectations of him in Australia.

“I have always maintained that the coach’s job is an important one, for he is in a position to play a key role in formulating team strategy. Who better than Kapil to come up with options for me during a tough tour of Australia?

“However, his method of involvement and his thought process was limited to leaving the running of the team to the captain, and hence he did not involve himself in strategic discussions that would help us on the field”.

On his part, Kapil refused to invite any controversy and remarked, “It is his opinion. As long as it is his opinion, it is fine with me. Everybody is entitled to one's opinion. I respect that. If someone has to sensationalise it, he is free to do that. I don't have anything to say or add to it,” when asked about it.