10 Great Cricketers Who Were Not Good Captains

Every player doesn’t inherit the skills and instinct of a leader. The best of players across sports have often failed to deliver as the skipper on many occasions. In cricket, there have been cricketers who were regarded among the best in their field, but they weren’t as good when it came to captaincy. We at Cricket Addictor will take a look at the ten great players who failed as a skipper.

Here is the list of ten cricketers who failed to live up to the expectations as a skipper:

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BRIAN LARA

Brian Lara is arguably the best left-hand batsman of this generation. His elegance and ability to score consistently has been an inspiration for the current crop of players. Lara has over 20000 runs in his international career with the highest score of 400 runs in an innings of a Test match.

However, the legendary West Indies cricketer has failed to convert his success while leading his country. With a 50% win percentage from 125 ODls, spanning over a period of 13 years, it was his success rate in the Test format which came under the scanner. Lara had managed to win only ten games out of 47 matches and lost 26 of those.

The West Indies great failed to make his team perform like him in the five-day format of the game.

ALASTAIR COOK

A career filled with ups and downs, Sir Alastair Cook, reached the epitome of success with his sheer passion and determination. He is England’s highest run-scorer in the five-day format of the game scoring 12742 runs from 161 matches including 33 centuries.

But Cook was unable to replicate his success with the bat when it came to leading the three Lions. The southpaw led England in 59 Test matches over six years losing 22 of them while 13 ended in a draw. Cook also led his country in 69 ODIs winning only 30 of them during his four-year stint during 2010-2014.

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ANDREW FLINTOFF

Andre Flintoff was one of the perfect examples of an all-rounder of the 21st century. The England-born was equally effective with both bat and ball across the formats. However, a series of injuries had shortened his career who was at his best during the 2005 Ashes.

But Flintoff failed when he took over the leadership duties of England. He led his country in 11 Test matches and had an atrocious record of 7 losses, two draws and two wins. Despite having an aggressive approach as a player, Flintoff couldn’t replicate it as a captain in a controlled way. The all-rounder also failed when it came to ODIs winning only one out of seven games played.

SACHIN TENDULKAR

Arguably, the greatest batsman to ever play the modern game, Sachin Tendulkar won billions of hearts with his outstanding batting abilities. He almost holds every batting records and has the most runs scored by a batsman in international cricket.

However, Tendulkar lacked consistency when it came to captaincy. He served India as a skipper in two spells first in 1996 for a brief period and then n 1999-2000 which was even worse. The Little Master has managed to secure only four wins from 25 Tests and 23 victories from 73 ODIs which is very much contrasting from that of success as a batsman.

BCCI had offered Sachin Tendulkar to take up the duties as Rahul Dravid resigned from the post. However, the legendary batsman denied taking the role which opened the gates for MS Dhoni.

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CHRIS GAYLE

West Indies have time and again produced some of the greatest leaders. The likes of Clive Lloyd and Viv Richards have dominated both as a skipper and the player. However, they have failed to produce leaders of top-class like them anymore. Chris Gayle succeeded Brian Lara as the leader of his country, but the attacking side of his batting lacked while leading West Indies.

With just 17 wins from 53 games and 30 defeats to top it off, Gayle was the perfect example of some great cricketers who have failed to take their side to the top as a captain. The self-proclaimed Universe Boss has had a laid back attitude when it came to captaincy, unlike his batting.

SHAKIB AL HASAN

Shakib Al Hasan has been the greatest ever Bangladesh cricketer who has brought many feathers for his country. The all-rounder is arguably the best spinning all-rounder of this generation and was at his best in the recently concluded ICC World Cup 2019 where he scored over 600 runs and claimed more than ten wickets to become the first of its kind.

Much like his success as an all-rounder, Shakib has failed to transform the success during his tenure as the Bangladesh captain. He has lost ten Test matches out of the 13 Tests while managing to win only 23 games in the 50 ODIs he has led his country.

His stint as the T20I skipper is also not something to be proud of winning the only three match in 11 games.

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RAHUL DRAVID

Rahul Dravid is one of India’s finest Test batsmen and has stood like a bedrock bailing his side out of danger on numerous occasions. He has over 24000 international runs to his name including 48 centuries and 146 fifties across formats.

However, Dravid was unable to replicate his performance when he took the baton of leadership. He took over the captaincy from Ganguly in late 2005, after the latter had been dropped from the team. The Wall captained India in a total of 25 Tests, and 79 ODIs, winning eight and 42, respectively. Although Dravid enjoyed good success at home, the team from India struggled badly in alien conditions.

ANDY FLOWER

Andy Flower is one of the brightest stars of Zimbabwean cricket who has taken his country to greater heights. With an average of over 50 in Test cricket, Flower was so phenomenally consistent during the early period of the 2000s, which made him the best his country have ever produced.

However, Flower who starred with the bat and the wicket-keeping gloves on failed to convert his success as the captain of Zimbabwe. He had only 13 wins to his name in 70 matches both Test, and ODI matches combined which is totally opposite to his records as that of a batsman and wicket-keeper.

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ROSS TAYLOR

Ross Taylor has been a fulcrum of New Zealand’s batting across formats for more than ten years. This period that has brought consistent Test success, especially on home soil, and the appearance in consecutive World Cup finals. He has ver 15000 international runs leading the Kiwi middle-order for long.

However, Taylor has failed to provide stability as a captain to the Black Caps. The swashbuckling batsman has only six wins to his name in 20 ODIs. The statistic gets worse when it comes to Test cricket as Taylor has only four victories and eight defeats to his name in 14 matches he has led the Black Caps.

Taylor is one of the most significant examples of a great player who has failed to deliver as a captain for his country.

DANIELL VETTORI

Daniel Vettori, who is the young New Zealand cricketer to play Tests, is also one of the best left-handed spinners to play the game. Staying away from media attention, Vettori has reached the epitome of success by his sheer hardwork. He is one of the few cricketers to do the double of 3000 runs and 300 wickets in Test cricket.

However, the talented bowler was more or less mild when it came to leading his country in the international circuit. Vettori enjoyed a good success, but it was in Test cricket, where his leadership abilities went under the scanner. He managed to secure only six wins from 32 Test matches with 16 draws in comparison to almost 50 percent success rate in the ODIs.

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