5 players who got a lucky chance to lead the Indian ODI team

Ajinkya Rahane has been declared as the captain for the Indian team for the upcoming Zimbabwean tour which came as a big surprise for the fans. Many of the top players have been rested which makes the way for the Mumbaikar to lead the team.This is not the first time when an unexpected decision have been made for the role of captaincy. There have been many other players who got this rare and prestigious opportunity under various circumstances.Following is the list of players who got this short-lived opportunity to lead the team in ODIs:

#5 Ajinkya Rahane

Rahane getting the role surprised everyone

Ajinkya Rahane who was earlier dropped for the last two matches against Bangladesh just two weeks before has been appointed as the captain of the second string Indian team. MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli and other important players have been rested for the upcoming series due to excessive cricket this year including the World Cup and the IPL.

Rahane is now the first cricketer from Mumbai since Sachin Tendulkar to lead the Indian team. Though he has very less experience of leading the team, his calm exposure can be effective.

The chairman of the selectors, Sandip Patil, explained, “He(Rahane) is one of the most consistent batsmen for India. That's why we want to see his other aspects. We have given him this opportunity and we'll definitely back him”. But at the same time, since it is against Zimbabwe, he might not be appreciated enough.

#4 Gautam Gambhir

Six out six for Gambhir

It was the series against New Zealand in 2010 in which MS Dhoni was rested and the leadership was handed over to Gautam Gambhir just before the World Cup 2011. The decision came despite the presence of much more experienced players like Yuvraj Singh and Virender Sehwag.

Interestingly, Suresh Raina had led the team earlier that year against Zimbabwe.

Gambhir went on to win all the 6 matches as a captain including 5 against New Zealand and 1 against West indies the next year. MS Dhoni’s dream run as a captain in that period prevented Gambhir from getting more opportunities to lead the team.

He leads the KKR franchise in the IPL currently and holds the impeccable record of winning the tournament twice. Due to poor form, he has been out of the national team for quite a while now and has recently being trained under Justin Langer to revive his International career.

#3 Suresh Raina

Raina led whenever India sent a B team

Suresh Raina featured as the Team India captain in 2010 against Zimbabwe when all the first-choice players were rested for the tour. However, Raina couldn’t lead from the front and India didn’t even make it to the finals of the tri-nation tournament.

He improved his performance as a captain in the next outing in 2011 against West Indies and won the series by 3-2. But, this still was a below par result considering the Indian team’s stature.

Raina couldn’t handle the pressure of leading the side which hampered his consistency in batting. He scored only 232 runs in the 12 matches where he led. The last series he played as a captain was against Bangladesh in 2014 which eventually was won by India.

#2 Virender Sehwag

Viru was also Mahi’s deputy for a long time

It has been an old tradition of the Indian team to send a second-string side while touring weak teams and the same happened in 2003 for the tour of Bangladesh. The big players like Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid pulled out from the series for personal reasons.

Sourav Ganguly, the full-time captain was rested for the third ODI which left the selectors with no option for captaincy other than Sehwag who had become a regular by then with consistent performances. India won the match by 4 wickets.

Viru never got a chance to lead for an entire series, but being a vice-captain, he was appointed to lead the team in the absence of a full-time captain. He was also the captain for the first T20I played by India against South Africa.

#1 Anil Kumble

He led India on a permanent basis in Tests during the fag end of his career

Anil Kumble captained the Indian team in only one ODI played against England in 2002. The full-time captain Sourav Ganguly was injured which made the way for Jumbo to lead the Side in the 3rd ODI of the series. India won this match by 4 wickets.

Kumble’s captaincy skills were more illustrated when he led the team in Test cricket. He was handed over the Test cricket captaincy with India running out of options for the role in 2008. Later, he also went on to lead Royal challengers Bangalore in IPL 2009 in the absence of Kevin Pietersen during the second half of the tournament.