8 greatest Indian Test captains of all time

#3 Rahul Dravid

Rahul Dravid, in 2007, led India to their first Test series win England since 1986

India’s most dependable cricketer of the modern era and the second highest aggregate run scorer in Tests for India, Rahul Dravid, had a legacy of his own. Whether it was his copybook technique, sessions after sessions of patience, or his humility outside the cricket field, Dravid was a true ambassador of the game in every which way.

Having made a memorable debut at Lord’s alongside Sourav Ganguly, scoring 95 runs in his first ever international innings, the seeds of a promising batsman were sown then and there.

Unlike other Indian Test captains, Dravid was bestowed with the leadership responsibility quite late in his career – almost after a decade of making his Test debut. The right-hander had led the team in the absence of Sourav Ganguly at times, but it was only in 2005 that he was made the full-time captain of the team.

Dravid’s moments of glory came in two away tours – against England and West Indies – as he led the Indian team to series victories in the aforementioned nations. Having said that, the importance of those victories should also be mentioned.

The Test series that India won in the West Indies in 2006-07, was only their second Test series win in the Caribbean, with the first one having been achieved as far back as in 1971. It was after 25 years that India managed to beat the Windies in their own den, and Dravid was the man who led them to it.

Similarly, the series win in England in 2007 also came after a gap of 20 years, as the last time that an Indian team had won a Test series there was in 1986 when Kapil Dev led the team to a 2-0 victory, winning back to back Tests – at Lord’s and Headingley.

Also, it was under Rahul Dravid that India won their first ever Test match on South African soil when they defeated the Proteas by 123 runs. Although India lost the next two Tests, and with it, the series, it was one of the most fiercely contested Test series between the two countries.

On his way to 13288 runs, Dravid oversaw the emergence of several youngsters under his leadership, and at the same time, saw the established cricketers take giant strides in their respective careers.

The incumbent Indian limited-overs captain, MS Dhoni, made his Test debut in 2005 under Dravid's captaincy and prospered in the longest format of the game during his infant years, between 2005- 2007, while S Sreesanth, Munaf Patel, and RP Singh had their short yet impressive bursts in Test cricket under Dravid’s captaincy.