A cricket captain is a person who manages the team and guides the players while on the field. Cricket captains are required to be knowledgeable in various disciplines, including strategy, batting, bowling tactics, etc., and be capable of exercising both effective leadership and diplomacy. Typically, team members have to look up to them as their source of guidance on or off the field.
Today you will get familiar with some famous captains of the Indian cricket teams who brought glory to their country and gave fans something to enjoy. Keep reading below to know more about the captains of India and how they helped India achieve success.
Virat Kohli
The first name that comes up on the list is Virat Kohli, a fantastic batsman and one of the greatest captains of India. He took over the captaincy from MS Dhoni, and he did keep up the level of Dhoni’s captaincy. Under his captaincy, India regained the title of giants in test cricket. He led the team to 40 test matches victory out of 68 matches.
He has a win percentage of 58.8, which is very impressive. As a captain, he also played some of the greatest knocks, and India beat almost all the greatest cricket teams such as Australia, England, South Africa, etc. He led to the finals of the world test championship, but unfortunately, they lost to New Zealand.
Sourav Ganguly
The cricket captaincy of Sourav Ganguly is considered one of the most successful tenures in the history of Indian cricket. The team he led, popularly referred to as “Ganguly’s eleven,” dominated world cricket during 2000-2004. He took over as India’s captain after his senior colleague Azharuddin was accused of match-fixing and subsequently banned from international matches.
He was appointed by the Indian selectors for the Test series against Australia in October 2000 as a replacement for the suspended Azharuddin. He steered India to an emphatic victory, winning his five matches as captain.
Ganguly had a lot of success with the bat during his tenure and scored. He was named man of the match twice on these occasions and scored three hundred along with 21 fifties. Ganguly’s success as an opening batsman was evident in his batting average of 51.3 – a more than the decent total for an Indian opening batsman.
CK Naidu
K Naidu who was the first captain of India cricket team establishes his name in the history of Indian cricket. He was the first-ever captain of the Indian cricket team to lead the Indian team to the international stage. He led the team to the test matches with England at the lord’s stadium, which was considered a historic moment in the cricket of India. CK Naidu captained the India team for just four test matches, but more importantly, he led the foundation of the Indian cricket team.
CK Naidu was born on 31 October 1895 and started his cricket journey at the school level. He joined the Hindu Gymkhana, representing the Indian team in cricket. This club was the only Indian club to play cricket at a good level. He was a talented cricketer of India, and that is why he was called upon to captain the Indian touring team to the MCC. Then India played his first-ever international test match in 1932 under his captaincy.
Ms. Dhoni
Ms. Dhoni is the most successful captain of the Indian cricket team. He won all the ICC trophies and put the Indian team to the top in world cricket. He was captain of India from 2007 and 2016. He was the batsman and wicket-keeper known for his finishing knocks. Under his captaincy, India won the first-ever T-20 world cup in 2007.
It was Dhoni’s first year of captaining and first major tournament, but his extreme captaincy skills showed when India became the champions of the world cup. Then in 2011, India won the ICC Men’s cricket world cup, which is the biggest cricket tournament. India became the country to host and win the world cup. Not only this, but he also has the Champions trophy to his name.
He captained in total 331 matches for India and won 178 of them. He is considered one of the best captains of India and the world. His cool and calm decision-making skills in the matches earned him the title of captain cool. Thus his fans call him to captain cool as he is most likely to show great performances when under pressure.
