5 surprise captaincy picks that went on to become legendary leaders

The art of captaincy holds more importance in cricket than in any other sport. While the manager/coach is in charge in most sports, cricket is a different game altogether as no other team sport goes on for as long as cricket.Hence, the role of a captain becomes pivotal and holds more significance than the coach as most of the decisions need to be made instinctively. A captain also needs to have thick skin as he is at the end of most criticism when things go wrong.Here’s a look at five captains that were surprise choices and went on to have stellar success:

#5 Misbah-ul-Haq

Misbah-ul-Haq after winning the Test series against Australia in 2014

Pakistan’s cricket team looked to have reached a new nadir after the 2010 spot-fixing controversy where their captain Salman Butt was implicated along with their two best fast bowlers: Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir. Pakistan looked at the veteran Misbah, who was 36 then, to take charge of the Test team.

Misbah has been Pakistan’s most successful captain, leading them to 17 wins in 38 Tests. By contrast, Imran Khan, who is widely considered to be their best captain, led them to 14 wins in 48 Test matches. After falling into an abyss post the spot-fixing scandal, Pakistan have become a formidable team in Test cricket under Misbah’s steadfast and sincere leadership.

#4 Graeme Smith

Graeme Smith strikes a pose at The Oval

No player has captained their team to more than the 53 wins that Graeme Smith managed as captain of South Africa. That hardly looked the case when Smith was made captain at the age of 22 after South African cricket had been tarnished by match-fixing revelations from Hansie Cronje and the first round exit in the 2003 World Cup under the honest and hard working Shaun Pollock.

By the time Smith retired, he had taken South Africa to number one on the ICC Test rankings table and had led the team in 109 Tests, more than anyone else in world cricket. Under Smith, South Africa finally started to realise their potential and win consistently away from home.

#3 Mike Brearley

Mike Brearley with John Lever, Geoff Miller, Chris Old, John Emburey and Mike Hendrick, Australia v England, 4th Test, Sydney, January 1978-79.

‘The Art of captaincy’ by Mike Brearley has often been cited as the defining writing on captaincy and is considered a must-read for most captains and leaders. England lost only 4 of the 31 Tests in which Brearley was captain. His most significant achievement was leading England to an Ashes victory on home soil in 1981, a series popularly known as ‘Botham’s Ashes’. Brearley had a major impact on Botham and England's ace all-rounder often reserved his best performances for Brearley’s captaincy.

He was made captain at the ripe old age of 35 after Tony Greig shocked the administration by signing up for World Series Cricket. Brearley’s intellect was almost unparalleled as he studied at Cambridge and he was outstanding at man management.

#2 Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi

Sussex team of 1970; Pataudi seated second from right

The Nawab of Pataudi, more commonly known as Tiger, was thrust into the hotbed of Indian captaincy at the tender age of 21 after Nari Contractor – who was captain at the time – was dispossessed by a Charlie Griffith bouncer. While he was vice-captain at that point of time – a move aimed at grooming him for the top job a few years down the line -, it was a huge gamble to make him captain ahead of experienced stalwarts like Polly Umrigar and Chandu Borde.

Pataudi was instrumental in instilling confidence in the Indian team and turning them into a confident team. His policy of playing his best bowlers in all conditions meant India often played with three spinners and sometimes played four spinners as well.

The legendary quartet of Bedi, Prasanna, Venkataraghavan and Chandrasekhar bloomed under the attacking leadership of Tiger Pataudi and his successor Ajit Wadekar reaped the rewards as India recorded historic series wins away in the West Indies and England in 1971.

#1 MS Dhoni

MS Dhoni leads India out for the 2015 World Cup semi-final

The 2007 World T20 marked a seismic shift in Indian cricket as the big three of Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid opted out of the tournament. It meant India had to go in with a new captain as Rahul Dravid was the incumbent. The team had experienced players like Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh but it was the long haired wicket keeper MS Dhoni who was surprisingly chosen as captain on Sachin Tendulkar’s recommendation.

Dhoni had a meteoric rise after that as a young Indian team went on to win the tournament. He was immediately made the ODI captain as well after Rahul Dravid resigned from that post. He took over in tests after a year when Anil Kumble retired. Dhoni had a fairytale run in his first few years as captain as India won all test series at home and competed well overseas. The high point of his leadership has to be India winning the 2011 50 overs World Cup at home with Dhoni hitting the winning six and India reaching the top position on the ICC test championship.