Team India’s Captains and their keywords

A team is a group of individuals performing in coherence to achieve a common goal. This definition was a bit skewed when it came to the Indian Cricket Team in the 90s. Then, the team’s performance wasn’t coherent enough as Indian cricket was about a young and exponentially growing Sachin Tendulkar who often stood amidst the storm when the others crumbled. This consistent act of singlehandedly galvanizing the team led to his Godly status.

But this God needed a team to lift the elusive World Cup trophy as cricket is a team game and not an individual sport. And in 2011, ‘Team India’ won the World Cup, not a bunch of individuals. The journey from a team of 11 individuals to Team India started when the Prince of Kolkata, Sourav Ganguly was entrusted with the responsibility of lending credibility to the tainted game, and more importantly building Team India.

In the past 18 years, Team India saw four colossal personalities wear the captain’s thinking hat for a long time. In hindsight, certain keywords have been attached to the way they led the team, the phase that they were in and the overall attitude that their respective teams showcased.

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Captain – Sourav Ganguly, Keyword – Aggression

Here was a captain who wasn’t afraid to give it back to the opposition. He became the skipper when the game had to be cleansed. The shadow of match-fixing was still lurking and it took bright sunshine in the form of a charismatic leader to start the rebuilding phase.

Several young guns like Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, and Zaheer Khan were groomed by Dada, as he is fondly called. He gave the team ‘belief’, a word that wasn’t a part of the team when they ventured outside the subcontinent. His aggressive attitude led India to the 2003 World Cup Final and several other memorable victories.

Captain – Rahul Dravid, Keyword – Stability

Mr. Dependable led Team India during a transition phase. The ultimate team man, Rahul Dravid played different roles as a player as and when the team required him to do. He batted at various positions, kept wickets and was handed the job of filling up the captaincy void when there was a rift between Greg Chappell and Sourav Ganguly.

There were cracks in the team but he had to hold the team together. That was a phase when the team needed stability to keep moving ahead and Dravid lent it. As always, he did the job. Team India was ageing, fitter bodies were the need of the hour, and the change couldn’t have happened in the absence of stability.

Captain – M.S. Dhoni, Keyword – Process

Ganguly and John Wright’s captain-coach combination was Fire and Ice because of the former’s aggression and the latter’s calmness. MS Dhoni and Gary Kirsten’s combination was a lesson in monkhood. This combination, built on the stable foundation laid by Dravid. A fitter, ambitious team, and Dhoni’s ability to make game-changing decisions played a huge role in the team winning all three ICC Trophies (T20 and ODI World Cups plus the Champions Trophy).

He often spoke about focusing on the ‘process’ and not worrying about results. ‘Karma kar phal ki chinta mat kar’, concentrate on your task and do not worry about the outcome, this is what ancient Indian texts say. From the 2007 T20 World Cup to the 2011 World Cup, Dhoni’s philosophy as a captain focused on the process and enjoying the game without taking pressure. This attitude is evident in the Kohli Era as well, the change being King Kohli’s intent along with the process.

Captain – Virat Kohli, Keyword – Intent

There is intent in everything Virat Kohli does or does not do. He plays his staple, flick of the legs with intent and leaves the swinging ball with intent. During the hard-fought India Vs South Africa (2018) Test series, captain Kohli’s intensity was eminent while he was cheering his non-strikers vociferously while batting.

The tough (India lost the series 2-1) press conferences also often included the word ‘intent’ as Kohli used it in a lot of answers. That intent is what makes Kohli an athlete and drives him to perform way better than his peers. On his day, the right-handed batsman is miles ahead from anyone in world cricket, and there have been quite a few such days in 2017-18.

His captaincy is still developing and intent plays a key role in that development.