Cricket has seen many players come and go and has developed as a game for the past few decades. Every great player has brought something to this game. Captaincy is also a vital aspect of this game. Many players have captained their side and have shown real leadership skills. Captaincy and Playing Cricket are two different skills, players who perform well, may not display good captaincy skills. Some captains brought tremendous success to their side, but some didn't have a successful run as a captain. Here is the list of ten such cricketers who were promising players but did not have a successful run as a captain.
1. Brian Lara
Brian Charles Lara was considered as one of the best batsmen of his time. Lara has scored over twenty thousand runs in his whole international career and has a record of the highest individual score by a batsman in an innings of a test match. However, the legendary Caribbean batsman could not perform well as a captain. He had a fifty percent winning ratio from 125 ODIs that he lead. His records as a test captain were further discouraging as he managed to win only ten matches out of forty-seven and lost twenty-six of those.
2. Sachin Tendulkar
The God of Cricket, Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar, has won many accolades as a player for the Indian team. But when it comes to captaincy, he was not successful at all. He served as a Captain for two spells, first in the year 1996 for a relatively brief period and second from 1999 to 2000. Sachin only managed to win four test matches from the twenty-five tests he captained and only twenty-three wins from seventy-three ODIs, which contrasts his success as a batsman. Sachin was offered the captaincy for the third time when Rahul Dravid resigned from the duties. However, Sachin rejected the proposal, and MS Dhoni was allowed to lead India.
3. Chris Gayle
After Lara, Gayle was allowed to lead West Indies, and like Lara, he also did not have a successful run as a captain. Gayle led his side in fifty-three games and managed to win only seventeen of them, facing defeat in thirty. The Universe Boss had a very laid-back attitude as a captain, unlike his batting.
4. Ross Taylor
One of the greatest batsmen that New Zealand has produced, but not the greatest of captains. Taylor has over fifteen thousand runs in international cricket and has been taking care of the kiwi middle order for so long. However, Taylor did not have a successful Captaincy campaign; he has only six wins in twenty ODIs. His test cricket records as a captain are even worse as he has only four wins in fourteen games he has led and has faced eight defeats.
5. Andrew Flintoff
One of the greatest all-rounders of the twenty-first century, Andrew Flintoff, was at his best during the 2005 Ashes. He was effective with both bat and ball across all formats. However, when Flintoff took the captaincy, he had an atrocious run as a captain as he recorded seven losses, two draws, and just two wins in the 11 test matches he led. Even in ODIs, he won only one game out of seven as a captain. He had a very aggressive approach as a player but could not replicate that aggression in a controlled way during his reign as a captain.
6. Rahul Dravid
One of the finest batsmen who stood like a wall bailing his side out of the mouth of defeats on countless occasions. He has scored over twenty-four thousand runs in international cricket across formats. However, the wall could not replicate his performance when he took captaincy from Sourav Ganguly, after Ganguly got dropped from the team. He captained India in 25 tests and 79 ODIs, winning eight and forty-two of them, respectively. Dravid's team succeeded at home but struggled heavily in away conditions.
7. Kevin Pietersen
Kevin Peter Pietersen had a very short tenure as a captain of England. He had to resign from captaincy after having a dispute with Coach Peter Moores. Kevin Pietersen led England in just three test matches and nine ODIs. He captained the 2008 tour of India and lost both the ODI and test series by 0-5 and 0-1 respectively.
8. Shakib Al Hasan
The Stalwart of Bangladesh Cricket Shakib Al Hasan is one of the greatest all-rounders to have played the game. However, the spin-bowling all-rounder did not enjoy his run as a captain. Shakib has captained the Bangladesh team in fourteen test matches and managed to get only three wins and lost the rest of them. As an ODI captain, he won twenty-three games out of the fifty he captained. In T20Is, he managed to get only seven victories out of twenty-one games he led.
9. Shivnarine Chanderpaul
The most unorthodox stance cricket has ever seen. Chanderpaul was known for his defensive playstyle and he was a great player playing for a below-average Caribbean side. Chanderpaul led the Caribbean in 14 tests and secured only one win, facing defeat in ten of them. In ODIs, he led totally in sixteen games and managed only two wins.
10. Andy Flower
The most prolific wicketkeeper-batsman playing for Zimbabwe, Andy Flower was a run-machine for his side. However, this greatness could not be displayed as a captain. Andy Flower led Zimbabwe in twenty test matches and managed to win only one match, facing loss in ten of them. As far as ODIs are concerned, he led his side in fifty-two games and managed to win only 12 contests, facing defeat in 35 of them.
