It seems that Dravid is unquestionably the next Indian captain. Ganguly's deputy for quite some time, there is little doubt that no one else is a serious contender. But, as I mentioned in a previous post, Dravid's batting form when he is captain is quite suspect. If India's best batsman will average 11 and change as captain, we are in trouble. Granted that four tests (as captain) is a poor sample set and that his batting form in the entire Australia series 2004 has been pathetic.
But, we have enough to make us wary. We can see quite clearly how Ganguly is a pale shadow of his former self ever since he donned the mantle of captainship. Dravid is too valuable a player to lose.
So who could take the role once Ganguly retires/is-subtly-asked-to-retire? I think we can say with reasonable confidence that Tendulkar will never be captain again, he is not even the vice captain today. The only other players that are sure for selection (if fit): Sehwag, Kumble/Harbhajan, Pathan. Laxman is fairly a certainty in Tests (I wonder why) and Yuvraj in ODIs. Kaif is a fair certainty in ODIs and he is slowly making his presence felt in the Test team. That puts us in a very odd position. While Kumble is not exactly knocking on the door of retirement, he is really not in contention. Harbhajan is really too reactive, while that works great for his bowling I am not sure if that is a successful recipe for a skipper. Pathan and Sehwag are too young, or are they? Food for thought?
Well, here comes the bombshell. Most people feel that Kaif does not have the finesse to be a regular test player. Well, he proved to be more consistent than the big name arsenal that is Team India. He does not have the solidity of Dravid, the elegance of Laxman, the explosive power of Sehwag or the class of Tendulkar. But he has the guts and steel of Steve Waugh. Steve, if you turn back time, was not considered much of a batsman. He proved, over the years, to be the most successful Australian captain ever. We can argue that he led a more professional team and that Ponting will end up with a better record. But, given India's options I am willing to bet that Kaif will make it to the top. Keep in mind that he has captained India A quite sucessfully (albeit in the ODI version). And he has one thing that Steve did not, he has a certain on-field vivacity. Have you seen him celebrate the awesome catch he just took? Flashback to July 14, India completes the second highest run chase in ODIs. India is 146/5, Tendulkar out cheaply. Helped by Yuvraj Singh, Md Kaif leads India to a satisfying victory with an innings of 87*. Did you notice the jubiliation, pride and hunger when he punched the air?
Another thought is the horses for courses bit. India has never really had separate captains for the ODI and the Test teams. Will post more on this as it comes to me.
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3 comments:
Kaif or Yuvraj Singh. Kaif is too humble to be a captain. He lacks aggression. It will be tough to change an icon crazy country to accept a lesser aggressor after Saurav retires.
I think we should make Ganguly the "non-playing" captain, and Sehwag the captain. Don't ever think that it will effect his batting. If it is there to be hit (or not there to be), he hits it!
That is an interesting thought. But what team in international cricket has a non-playing captain? For that matter, what sport has non-playing captains? I don't think a captain can be effective without being in the trenches. Anyway, in Ganguly's case, after he is removed from the playing 11, how can we expect any player to respect him any longer? How can he guide a team-member in backlift, followthrough and the finer aspects of batting? I don't think a non-playing captain is an option for Ganguly.
As for Sehwag, his slam-bang style is working great for his batting. Wonder if that is judicious for a captain though. Do you know of any captain that has a similar approach and any success? Does Sehwag have any experience as a captain that we can look to for inspiration?
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