5 cricketers who can go on to become great captains

To measure a captain by his statistical records is to do him no justice. The results may not be fruitful for a while, but his true contribution lies in his influence on the quality of cricket being played. To inspire an army of eleven from the abyss of negativity and instill belief in them at the toughest of times are no easy tasks, which is why a leader is not just another cricketer.He is the one every individual looks up to for motivation; he is the one who holds the power to salvage games with shrewd strategies and tactical boldness even when his men aren’t producing the goods. He leads from the front, setting an example and encourages his players to wring their best every time.A captain must demand respect for his man-management principles to render results. Every player needs to be treated differently and it takes only a revered figure to make one heed his advice. To remain sincere and transparent, to prioritize the team’s cause over his own, to back talent and infuse self-confidence, to take the blame during failures – the responsibility can get quite demanding.Leading a team of international players is an arduous job indeed, as is listing five cricketers who can go on to become distinguished skippers in future. The author does take a feeble attempt anyway.

#1 Joe Root

That Joe Root will one day rise to the rank of England skipper was taken as understood since he completed his debut year in international cricket. As a composed right-hander, he is not alien to comparisons with former England great Michael Vaughan, and it is his absolute unwillingness to throw away his wicket that sets Root apart from his peers in the England dressing room.

Root belongs to the breed of players who inspire others. By 2013, the then 22-year-old was already being considered as a leadership option as he led the England Lions against the New Zealanders in a four-day warm up match. He scored 179 runs in that match.

At 30, Alastair Cook does have a few more years to go, but should the need arise, it is almost inconceivable that England will turn to anyone else with Root available. As vice-captain, he continues to be Cook’s understudy, thus molding the leadership potential the selectors had seen in him.

Permanent responsibility may affect his batting initially, but with Root’s maturity, there should hardly be anything to be concerned about.

#2 Kane Williamson

For Kane Williamson, the question over captaincy has almost always revolved around the territory of ‘when’ rather than ‘if’. Not unlike Root, he has worked through the ranks with solid batting and supreme technique. His tendency of putting a high value on his wicket is a virtue New Zealand fans are barely acquainted with.

Williamson has been around for more than five years and understands the internal machinations of the side as well as anybody else. His brand may be quite different from that of the outgoing Brendon McCullum, but it is by every means a welcome change once the latter bids adieu to international cricket, come February.

The right-hander’s professionalism and work ethic have earned accolades from various cricketing circles. He enjoys a respectable position not only in the Black Caps dressing room but also all over the world – a position from which greater heights can be reached. With age on his side, that seems a certainty.

#3 Rohit Sharma

He is laid-back, inconsistent, often too reluctant to realize his potential and definitely not the safest bet to lead an international team, but if Rohit Sharma’s records as the Mumbai Indians captain in the IPL for the last couple of seasons are to suggest anything, Test skipper Virat Kohli may have an alternative in the coming years.

Captaincy is not always about the best player at the helm, but rather about bringing the best in your players. With the Mumbai outfit performing as well as it has, skipper Rohit certainly ticks those columns. His faith in youngsters like Hardik Pandya has yielded positive results not just for the individual, but for the team as a whole.

The fact that even Ricky Ponting believes in investing in Sharma as a leader speaks volumes about the latter’s skills. During the last part of the tournament in the previous season, the right-hander displayed immense maturity with several tough decisions and proactive approach.

He continues to flatter to deceive in the longest format of the game, but truth be said, he has been uncharacteristically consistent in the one-day version last year. Captaining the Indian team may seem a distant dream as of now, but achieving even further glory with as the Mumbai Indians skipper appears to be a definite possibility.

#4 Kraigg Brathwaite

West Indies’ captaincy options seem to be diminishing every passing day with the current skipper being only half as good, but somewhere down the line, one name can hold the potential to turn the tables and motivate the uninspired team towards much-needed success – Kraigg Clairmonte Brathwaite.

The 23-year-old had already scored a double century in Tests by his 13th match, but the amount of runs does not measure his talent as well as the manner in which he scores them. Tall and slightly built, Brathwaite believes in precision more than power. His defensive but determined approach, while being extraordinarily un-West Indian, is exactly what the Caribbean Test team requires.

Even at his age, Brathwaite has had a decent amount of exposure in the big boots. He led the junior West Indies team in the Under-19 World Cup in Australia in 2012. In January 2014, he was announced as the Barbados Regional 4-day captain where he led from the front taking his team to the top of the table.

That it is too quick to offer imagination on Brathwaite’s and West Indies’ captaincy future is not a viable argument considering the fashion in which South Africa had groomed a 23-year-old skipper in Graeme Smith in the recent past. Besides, it’s not that the overly aggressive West Indies captains are doing a good job either.

#5 Dean Elgar

Captaincy is not always about scoring runs and gathering wickets yourself. When you cannot lead by example, you have to push the team from behind, infuse belief in your men and empower them to overcome adversities. Captaincy is more about valuing the success of your men more than your own.

Dean Elgar is not the most charismatic alternative to Hashim Amla, but he seems to be a practical answer to South Africa’s captaincy quandary with the latter’s abrupt decision to step down.

AB de Villiers is no more than a short-term replacement, given his batting issues crop up every time he is handed over the responsibility. JP Duminy is still waiting to warrant a place in the Test squad and Faf du Plessis, although consistent, is 31.

On the other hand, the 28-year-old Elgar continues to scale heights now that he has cemented his place in the top order. With his remaining teammates being either too old or too inexperienced, Elgar wins the captaincy vote on the principle of exclusion.

Elgar has demanded respect in recent matches with stunning displays of maturity along with perseverance. Although he doesn’t ooze leadership potential like the others in this list, the unassuming opener may just turn out to be another Vaughan down the road if he does the basics right and gets his men to perform at their 100%.