Playing for a country and leading their team in the purest format of cricket is a dream for any cricketer. Cricket has seen many legendary captains who have dominated cricket with their superior captaincy skills. From sir Garry sober, Ricky Pointing to MS Dhoni, there are many legendary players have left a significant impact in captaincy. Captaining in test cricket is difficult in comparison to the shortest format. Skippers need to plan more strategies to get a positive outcome. There are lots of cricketers who have started captaincy at a very young age.
1. Rashid Khan
Rashid Khan has become a big name in current cricket. Almost every team will want a bowler like Rashid in their squad. He's the most popular personality of Afghanistan and inspiring the young generation to make their career in this field. He led Afghanistan cricket at the very young age of 20 years against Bangladesh on 5 September 2019.
2. T Taibu
Taibu was appointed as the captain of Zimbabwe after resigning from Heath Streaks in 2004. He broke the record of Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi’s to become the youngest Test captain in the history of cricket. However, he remained unsuccessful as he lost 9 out of 10 matches as a captain.
3. Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi
Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi was one of the best Indian captains, who led India to the most remarkable victories. India regular captain Nari Contractor was ruled out of the match due to injury, then Mansur Ali Khan was appointed the leader in 1962. Team India was touring the West Indies at that point of time. He led India in 40 Tests, in which he led the Indian side to victory nine times.
4. Waqar Younis
Pakistan's one of the finest fast bowlers and legendary, Waqar Younis, got the role of captaincy very early in 1993 against Zimbabwe due to the injury of skipper Wasim Akram. However, he got to lead his team again in 2001. The fast bowler captained Pakistan in 17 test matches, where he led his team to victory ten times.
5. GC Smith
Legendary South African batsman Smith is termed as one of the greatest and skillful test captains. He got the captaincy role after the resignation of Shaun Pollock. He didn't let down his cricket Board decision and became the best Skipper in South Africa cricket history. Smith led South Africa in 109 test matches and got to win 53. Many, of them came as overseas victories which shows how good Smith was as a captain.
6. Shakib Al Hasan
Shakib al Hasan is probably the greatest cricketer to ever play for Bangladesh. He is an inspiration for many Bangladesh youngsters. Shakib al Hasan, a captaincy role very early in his career at the age of just 22. However, his journey as a Skipper is unforgettable as he managed to win just one game in his captaincy.
7. Ian David Craig
Ian David Craig was the youngest Australian to captain the Australian cricket team. He played 11 tests in his career, in which he scored 358 runs with an average of 19.
8. Javed Miandad
Javed Miandad was one of the finest batsmen of the Pakistan cricket team. He captained Pakistan at the age of just 22 against Australia. Javed played 124 matches for Pakistan, in which he scored 8832 runs.
9. M Bisset
M Bisset was a South African player who represented the South African cricket team at just 22 against England on 14 February 1899.
10. Mohammed Ashraful
Mohammed Ashraful is considered a highly talented Bangladesh cricketer. He got an opportunity to lead Bangladesh at a very young age of 22 against Sri Lanka in Colombo.
