This post comes a few weeks after the most successful captain to have led India in cricket bid farewell to International cricket. Saurav Ganguly, known for his astute tactics in leading India to many victories around the cricketing world retired after the home series against Australia in 2008. He should be one satisfied man on having passed on the baton, the leadership to able hands, MS Dhoni.
As one columnist ably quoted, Dada, a.k.a Saurav Ganguly was seen as someone who dawned the cloak of Caesar when he led, his strength in being aggressive and innovative with his on-field tactics, not to mention the occasional arrogance which came into play when he had to deal the opposition giving them a taste of their own medicine. Be it, the “famous/notorious” incident when he took of his shirt on the balcony of the Lord's ground, or the alleged delays he caused at the toss during Steve Waugh's tour in 2001 or the way he groomed youngsters like Dhoni, Irfan Pathan, Yuvraj , Harbhajan, Zaheer Khan and many others by making them match winners in many matches, Dada was always looked upon as someone who carried the Indian cricket forward.
A few untoward incidents like the spat with coach Greg chappell or when he sat out of the last two test matches courtesy the bowler friendly tracks in Nagpur and Mumbai back in 2004, during the only home series which India have lost under his captaincy, have only added more drama to his exciting if not an extraordinary career. No one could forget his leadership skills in 2001, when he stopped Steve Waugh from conquering the final frontier by a world-stunning performance winning the series 2-1 after being down the drains 3 days into the 2nd test thanks largely to the batting prowess of Laxman, Dravid, Sachin and off spinner Harbhajan who was the man of the series.
He was also a thinking captain. No one could forget the incident against the Kiwis during the super-sixes stage of 2003 world cup. India were 4-down needing another 15 runs to win chasing a low-score of 160 and odd when it started drizzling. Every one was in the panicking mood fearing the infamous D/L method which often led the chasing team down, but there was Dada relaxed in the balcony having a piece of paper. The message on the required number of runs to be scored had already reached the batsmen and India convincingly won that game after a delay of few minutes. He was the only one among the fab-four who led India to the finals of ICC Champions trophy twice, first in 2000 when India lost a hard fought match to New Zealand and second when the trophy with Sri Lanka after rain played spoil sport on the finals. He was the only captain after Kapil Dev who led us to the finals of a world cup, not to forget an unbeaten record after through out the tournament after the first match. But, it takes a champion to make a startling comeback, the one he made in late 2006 after having been left out of the side for a few series. He finally silenced his critics by retiring on his own terms after having a great series with the bat scoring 324 runs at an average of 54 runs. Dada, take a bow ! for serving the country and leading it to the next step.
RAHUL DRAVID:
Rahul Dravid, Dada's best pal in the team, his immediate successor was fondly called Mr.Consistent for a major part of his career if one is ready to forget the name “Wall”. He was seen as someone who was technically shrewd, but the aggression was a shade less than Dada. Time and again, he was looked upon as a modern Jesus Christ in terms of Cricket, one who wore the captaincy with a lot of thorns in the crown. He seemed to have taken down the responsibility of the team solemnly on his shoulders.
Be it leading two former captains or dealing with a evolving bunch of youngsters, Jammy as he is sweetly called dealt everything in the conventional way if not a very diplomatic one. He led team India to the first ever series win in the Caribbean back in 2006. He wasn't the luckiest of captains when it came to tests. Though he was the captain when India held the record for winning the most number of consecutive matches batting second, his test record isn't as great as Dada's. He took everyone by surprise when he stepped down from captaincy after the first ever series win over England overseas in 2007.
He was the quickest to adopt to the 3rd power play technique in 2005 when he won the home series against Sri Lanka leaving the visitors still crooning over the new Power play rules. Once again, it felt very diplomatic of him to pass on the torch on a high. He was always gentle, never showed an angry face to the media and would always be noted for passing positive comments even about the opposition quite often. Take a bow, Jammy! for continuing the good work done by Dada.
SACHIN RAMESH TENDULKAR:
Sachin Tendulkar, the most senior of the FAB 4, didn't have the greatest of times leading the side. His record would stand last if one compared the captaincy stints of the Fab-IV. I wouldn't go much into this as I was only an amateur when he first led India, and he had gave up captaincy when I grew up. He is regarded as someone who always gave more than his 100% when he led the country. He fared pretty well with his batting when he led the team, but the irony was that only he fared well, and when he didn't do well, others cashed in on and took the credit for winning.
He could be looked at as someone who brought Dada to the opening slot in ODIs, his partnership with Dada went on to break the highest score for the first wicket twice once in 1998 and once in 2002. He was also unlucky as he had led a highly inexperienced side to the two toughest of tours namely to the Caribbean and South Africa in 1997 and the tour down under to Australia at the break of the millenium. He twice gave up captaincy . He gave it up first in 1997 after a disappointing performance at Sharjah and other overseas tours. But he got back the captaincy twice. After India's exit out of the 1999 world cup, he was made captain again, which he gave up after the 3-0 drubbing that India received in 1999 from the World champions. And again, when Dravid, gave up captaincy in 1997, his name was discussed. He was quite sure not to test his skills again and showed the way to the ace Indian leg spinner, Anil Kumble.
His record as captain was quite similar to his contemporary great, Brian Lara. Both didn't fare as well as they were expected to but Lara led the side for a longer period. He also put his thinking cap on quite often. One could still remember Sachin bringing himself on for the last over when Aussies needed 6 runs of 6 balls in a one-dayer at Mohali. He kept the nerves tight and won the game after maintaining a strict line bowling seem-ups to a pair puzzled Aussie batsmen. It wouldn't be an exaggeration if one could say that he has done a world of good by not accepting the captaincy for the 3rd time. Thanks Sachin, for having shown the way to better leaders.
ANIL KUMBLE:
Anil Kumble, the legend of leg-break from Karnataka, first led India in an ODI back in 2002 against England when Dada sat out due to injury. He was also the Vice-Captain when Sachin led the team in1997. He led India in tests when Dravid gave up Captaincy in 2007 and Sachin opted himself out of the Captaincy race. Talking particularly of his leadership skills, he would be remembered for the way he led the team down under for the controversial series in late 2007 and early 2008.
He was a gentleman cricketer, a trait which also reflected during his brief stint as Indian captain. He was very composed when he dealt with the press after the controversial Sydney test which Australia won, but he had the last laugh when the team won the next test at Perth, becoming the first team to beat Australia at Perth, a ground known for its quicker, bouncier tracks. For someone who started his career as a medium pacer who later turned to leg-spin, he was often laughed as someone who could never turn the ball. But, he developed a lot of bowling weapons in his armour including the googly which puzzled any batsman similar to the ones bowled by any classic leg spinner. He holds the record for the only leg-break bowler who took 619 wickets, led his country both in ODIs and tests and got a test match hundred against his name. None of the audience who saw Javagal Srinath and Anil Kumble wage a strong fightback winning an ODI at Bangalore against the Aussies would forget his brilliance as a batsman.
For a great bowler who risked permanent injury when he bowled with a broken jaw to get Brian Lara out in the Jamaica test in 2002, he deserves far more respect than what people gave him. It was only fitting that he quit the game after a not-so-convincing series against the Aussies at Kotla, New Delhi, the ground where he bagged all ten wickets in an innings en-route to become only the second bowler to do so. Take a bow, Anil Kumble for remaining the gentleman you are both as a skipper and a player, for leading the team with a lot of confidence when it mattered the most.
MAHENDRA SINGH DHONI:
The future is here, and it is time for the baton to be passed to the best in the business, MS Dhoni, remarked by many as Captain Cool. He has shown a lot of improvement behind the wicket since he made his debut back in 2004. His leadership qualities came to test when he led the team to victory in the T20 world cup after the seniors backed out of the tournament.
He seems to maintain a good rapport with the youngsters in the side. He doesn't spare the rod when it comes to correcting youngsters. This could be evident when he allegedly imposed a fine on Sreesanth S for having missed the team meeting. For someone who was the heart throb of youngsters, with a macho hairstyle, Dhoni has matured to an astute leader leading the team to 3 consecutive wins in tests, but there is more to come when he leads the team overseas.
He shares a light moment whenever the situation gets gloomy in the press conferences. He doesn't mince words when he comments on the performances of players. Keen watchers of cricket would remember him shouting “सोने के लिए time मिलेगा ” meaning " You will get time to sleep" to a lazy fielder in the deep during an ODI played in Australia। He has led the team to two consecutive ODI series victories once against Australia in the VB series, the last series of Gilchrist, thereby becoming only the third team after South Africa, and England to beat Australia in the VB series। Not to forget that both South Africa and won the series twice signalling the ends of the ODI careers of Mark Taylor and Steve Waugh.
The next victory came against Sri Lanka where India won the bilateral series for the first time thanks to superb form exhibited by the batsmen. He has been a smart captain which has been proved more than once. If Dada was ready with the required runs during the rain-threating World cup match match against the Kiwis, Dhoni had predicted this before everyone when he surprised everyone at the toss during the match against England. After losing the toss, he calmly commented that the Kanpur ground was prone to poor light and the D/L rule might come into play. It did finally come into play, but Dhoni had the match well in control when bad light was called off thus stealing off a hard fought thrilling match from his counter part, Kevin Pietersen. And, who could forget the “bowl-out” against Pakistan. When the Pakistanis under Shoaib Malik weren't aware of what the rule meant, Dhoni had already trained the team members on how to face it and was also ready with a set of “bowl-out” experts.
People call him the man with the Midas touch as everything he touches turns into gold as of now. I would beg to differ. I don't think Dhoni would be like Midas who turned even food to gold. He wouldn't be so foolish. He is the best heir to the throne which was long held by Saurav Ganguly. He has already groomed Gautam Gambhir and Ishant Sharma to play consistent roles. He shared a good rapport with the seniors as well which was evident when he asked Dad to lead the team for a few overs on his last day of International cricket. He has potential even to do more than what Dada did if one could compare the two. Only time could tell if he can stand the test of the years to come. But he definitely has the upper hand when it comes to leading the team in the 2011 at home and better are India's chances of winning the cup after 28 years.
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