Top 5: All-time greatest captains of India

Captaincy is an art-form, something which requires great skill, courage and tactical acumen. The man who leads from the front and orchestrates victories, who takes the fall for defeats and motivates his team with the hunger for success, the importance of a captain in cricket is huge. Here is celebrating such great men, the 5 greatest captains to have led India.

1. Mahendra Singh Dhoni

While ranking Dhoni right at the top might upset a few readers, it is inarguable that Dhoni has, through the years, displayed ample resilience and determination to take the top spot from Sourav Ganguly as the best Indian captain.The Indian team, under the leadership of Dhoni, won the inaugural ICC World Twenty20 in 2007 which was held in South Africa. Then when Dhoni became the test captain, in his very first series he won the Border-Gavaskar trophy. In fact, under him India rose to the No. 1 position in the ICC test rankings.

The calmness and perseverance which Dhoni embodies took him to heights never imagined in Indian cricket. There was once a time when India were regarded as laggards and children overseas, but under Dhoni’s captaincy the scenario has changed altogether. In fact, India managed to even win the 2011 ICC Cricket world Cup breaking the long standing barren run since 1983, with the captain leading from the front by scoring a match-winning knock of 91 in the final versus Sri Lanka! Sourav Ganguly himself has stated in his interviews that Dhoni was a better captain that him. Even Tendulkar heaped praises on Dhoni, stating that he was the best captain he had ever played under. With so much going for him and age still on his side, what more Dhoni can offer to Indian cricket is anybody’s guess.

“He is a real cool customer. It seems nothing can put him under pressure. Whatever the situation, he is always under control. The best thing about his captaincy is he backs the newcomers a lot. He makes sure that every player gets enough chance to prove himself. It’s very important. Much like Dada. Most of the senior players in the current team started under Dada.”

— Gautam Gambhir on MS Dhoni / July 10, 2011

2. Sourav Ganguly

He was the man who made the Indian team bond together. As many say, he was instrumental too in spotting out precious new talents, some of whom have turned into match winners today. Yet perhaps the biggest problem with Sourav Ganguly was that he was temperamental. He displayed extreme phases of emotions and the calmness embodied by Dhoni seemed to be missing in him. While in joy he took off his shirt and waved it in public, like after India won the final match in Natwest series in 2003 versus England in a thrilling finish. He took too much pressure and faced batting troubles as bouncy deliveries became his biggest problem, something he never rectified, and Australian bowlers continuously targeted him with it.

Yet, Ganguly’s resilience, never-say-die approach and the ability to instill confidence in the Indian team that they they can perform overseas; the credit of achieving all that goes to this man. He still remains one of the most respected captains of the Indian team. True, Ganguly’s only major success was making India reach the finals of the 2003 World cup and the Asia cup and also drawing a series against Australia Down Under, but in the context of Indian cricket, his contributions were phenomenal. It might just have been a case of bad luck that he could not prove himself in the finals of major showpiece events, but the fact remains that he is one of the best men to have ever captained India.

“Sourav’s greatest strength is his mind. He is hardworking – not only in the nets but also mentally. He bounces back.”

-Sachin Tendulkar

3.Kapil Dev

The debut of the man who led India to its first ever World Cup in 1983 came only during the 1982-83 season, which is an extraordinary fact that speaks volumes about the greatness of Kapil Dev. When he started out, it was the time when the might of the West Indies ruled the world, and Kapil Dev and his team managed to win a match in his first ODI series as a captain. That victory, many winning members of the World cup 1983 winning Indian team said, gave them the confidence to face the Windies in the 1983 final. Kapil Dev hadn’t yet made such a mark in the international arena, having a record of 2 matches, 608 Runs (Average: 21), 34 wickets. In fact, India found it going tough in the 1983 tournament. But it was young Kapil Dev who emerged as the true saviour then.

In a must win game versus Zimbabwe, Kapil Dev put on 126 runs for the 9th wicket, scoring a century and creating a record that stand the test of time for 27 years from then! It was an all-round show by the man who guided his team through all times and ensured that they remained on the winning side. As a captain, Kapil Dev played better than he did as a player, and even when he was reappointed as captain in March 1985 the trend continued as he led the team from the front and he even became the joint man of the match in the famous second tied Test against England. Leading India to a series win over England was an extraordinary achievement in Indian cricket then, something made possible by Kapil Dev in the 1986 series. Even though he had constant differences with Gavaskar, Kapil, during his reign at the top had a strong success record and made the Indian team achieve newer heights.

“Indian cricket will never produce another Kapil Dev.”

- Partab Ramchand, an eminent journalist

4. Mohammed Azharuddin

The man who displayed his skills not only through his bat but also with his artful captaincy, Azharuddin’s contributions as Indian captain were remarkable. A right-handed batsman, he had a fluid batting style which was in some ways similar to that of English great David Gower. Azharuddin was a great fielder too, a wonderful batsman and his captaincy was one of the best. Azhar could single-highhandedly turn the fortunes of a game and was a constant nightmare to the bowlers who faced him. His skills and art work in batting were much talked about. In fact, Azharuddin has to his credit, 103 wins as captain and one of the best success rates. His 14 test match wins as a captain was also a record which set the benchmark for Ganguly to better. Winner of the Arjuna Award in 1986 and the 1991 Wisden Cricketer of the Year, Azhar was a true great in his days.

Unfortunately though, right at the peak of his career, when everything seemed to go well for him, out came the revelations of his involvement in match fixing and it led to the downfall of a giant who was once respected both on and off the field.

“Mohammad Azharuddin is arguably one of the three greatest Indian captains of all time. In the recent times we have not seen or heard, of course Pataudi being the only exception, about a captain of Azhar’s ability.”

- Writer Nayeemudin Mohammad

5. Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi

He lost an eye in a car crash, but even that did not stop Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi from realising his dream of playing in the Indian team. He managed an average of 34 in tests even after losing an eye, which made him the epitome of perseverance and determination. Until the accident happened, Pataudi, who was then studying in Oxford University, looked all set to break all records for he had scored 1216 runs at an average of 55!

He was the Test cricket‘s youngest captain at the time he took over, aged 21 years and 77 days. A great batsman and a person with inspiration leadership qualities, he was the feared one among his oppositions. Known by the famous nickname ‘Tiger’, Pataudi’s philosophy was never to push from behind and he always strived to get the best out his team. His master mind move was his decision to concentrate on spin when he recognized that India did not possess fast bowling resources. Tiger thus gave the world the famous spin quartet of Bedi, Prasanna, Chandrasekhar and Venkatraghavan. Ultimately, he finished with captaining over 40 tests and made India claim their first victory on foreign soil, by defeating New Zealand 3-1. A fierce fighter, Pataudi recently expired at the age of 70, having contracted an acute lung infection.

“If there had been no Pataudi, Indian cricket would have taken much more time to graduate into a combative, cohesive unit, which played to win and not lose.”

- Cricket analyst Pradeep Magazine