8 greatest Indian Test captains of all time

#1 Ajit Wadekar

Ajit Wadekar led India to their first ever series victories against England and West Indies

At the numero uno position in the list enumerating the best Indian Test captains is the man who made India taste success against the best in the world – who were at their own imperious best during the time – away from home.

If MAK Pataudi had taught the team that they could win Test matches at the international level, Ajit Wadekar took that confidence, that inspiration and oversaw India create history, as it was under his leadership that India won their first ever Test series against England and the West Indies in 1971.

It wasn’t just in those victories that his greatness lay, but rather, in his ability to help the side draw Test matches from precarious situations and thereby win the series.

It must also be remembered that India, back in 1971, didn’t have the luxuries of established Test batsmen. In fact, India themselves weren’t an established Test nation by then. The likes of Sunil Gavaskar, Gundappa Vishwanath, S Venkatraghavan and BS Bedi had either made their debuts or were in the formative years of their career.

Wadekar took the team that had only started to find its footing amongst the greats and took it to unprecedented success. Gavaskar scored a record 774 runs in his debut series in 1971 against the Windies under Wadekar’s captaincy, while Dilip Sardesai scored 2 centuries and a double century in the same series.

This kind of a run-fest against a side that was led by Garfield Sobers and had the likes of Clive Lloyd and Roy Fredricks in their midst was simply magical. India won the five-Test series 1-0.

The story in England the same year had a similar script to it. The spin trio of Venkatraghavan, Chandrasekhar and Bedi was in its menacing best, as Chandra picked up 8 wickets in India’s series-clinching 3rd Test at the Oval in August. England were beaten, once again, in their return tour to India in 1972-73 with Chandrasekhar, Bedi, and Prasanna running through the English ranks.

Wadekar made India believe that winning just Test matches isn't enough. He instilled the need and the habit of winning consistently away from home, something that made the lives much easier for the leaders who followed him post 1974.

Sunil Gavaskar has time and again hailed him as one of then greatest captains to have led the Indian Cricket Team, and there are plenty of reasons, as stated above, for such an assertion.