5 ODI Captains fans may have forgotten

While there has been a significant urge to save Test cricket, ODI cricket looks to have fallen out of the race. The dominance of T20 cricket has left ODI cricket in the shadows and it is important to remember the format although the number of series has gone down at the moment. The boards are interested in playing T20Is and Tests, while ODIs have gone down in the pecking order.

Captaincy in the 50-over format is one of the difficult jobs and the current scenario has seen a lot of captains emerging with the regular skippers needing rest due to a hectic schedule. In the previous era, it wasn’t the case and captains had to be changed in the middle of the series only due to injuries.

On that note, there were a number of captains in the ODI format that were forgotten by the fans in the due course. It is time to look at five ODI captains whom the fans would find it tough to remember.

5 ODI Captains fans may have forgotten:

1. Azhar Ali

Azhar Ali known more for his longer format skills did lead Pakistan for a period of time in the 50-over format. The 37-year-old was named the ODI captain after the 2015 World Cup despite not being a regular name in the format for the country. The men in green were into a disastrous run under him as they kept losing games on the trot.

The Pakistan side dropped to ninth place in the ICC ODI rankings, and almost missed the bus for the Champions Trophy as it featured the top eight teams. After a 1-4 series loss to Australia in February, Ali stepped down as captain of the Pakistan ODI side and the country went on to win the Champions Trophy under Sarfaraz Ahmed.

Overall, Ali captained Pakistan in 31 ODIs, winning 12 of those and losing 18 games with one having no result. He had a win percentage of just 38.71 and never established himself in the format as he did in the Tests.

2. Lahiru Thirimanne

Lahiru Thirimanne has been around the Sri Lankan international side for a long time since his debut in 2010 and he was seen as the future of the side. The left-hander, however, was always in and out of the side but went on to play 127 ODIs having scored four centuries in the process. He is no longer part of the format and last played an ODI in 2019 against Pakistan.

The 32-year-old captained Sri Lanka in five ODIs but it wasn’t as fruitful as he would like to be. He first got the nod as a captain in the absence of injured Angelo Mathews in the New Zealand tour in 2014-2015. He could win just one of his five games as a leader and lost four games which meant that he never captained the side again.

Thirimanne did make a comeback in the Test format recently and was asked to open the batting alongside Dimuth Karunaratne. However, with the arrival of a new look Sri Lankan side, Thirimanne is expected to lose his spot in the longer format as well.

3. Aiden Markram

Aiden Markram has been a sensation for the South African side in the last couple of years and has taken his game to the next level in the limited overs format. While many know about his stature in Test cricket at the top of the order, Markram has captained the Proteas in the ODI format.

The right-hander made his ODI debut in 2017 and has gone on to play 39 games scoring 976 runs at an average of 28.71 with four fifties to his name. Markram who had already won a U19 World Cup with South Africa was handed the captaincy in the 50-over format and so far, he has led in five games.

He managed to win one out of the five games and lost four in the process. However, the 27-year-old will certainly be a strong contender for the leadership role in the future given his ability to handle pressure. He has adapted to the middle order exceedingly well in the limited overs format and has reaped a lot of rewards already.

4. JP Duminy

JP Duminy was one of the middle order specialists who had a big role to play in the South African batting lineup. He had the ability to bowl some useful off-spin and was one of the destructive finishers in his prime. However, he never seemed to settle into the playing XI as the Proteas had a lot of match winners.

Despite that, Duminy played 199 ODIs scoring 5117 runs at an average of 36.81 since his debut in 2004. He captained the Proteas side in two ODIs and managed to win both the games to maintain a 100 per cent record. In 2019, Duminy decided to part ways with international cricket.

Duminy played for various franchises across the globe and he has played some memorable knocks in his international career for the South Africa side. However, his captaincy never came to the fore in international cricket despite having impressive numbers in domestic cricket and South Africa should have opted for him as the leader a lot more.

5. Anil Kumble

Anil Kumble is India’s leading wicket-taker in ODIs and Test cricket still and he has left a mountain for the current Indian bowlers to reach. The leg spinner who became India’s first bowler to pick up all ten wickets in an innings in Tests was a magician with the ball and played a big part until his retirement in 2008.

Kumble’s captaincy in Tests was quite noticeable but not many knew that he had captained in ODIs as well for India. The legendary spinner led India in just one ODI in 2002 in the absence of regular skipper Sourav Ganguly against England. India managed to win the game and he maintained a 100 per cent captaincy record in the format for India.

He later was appointed the full-time captain in Tests in 2007 and did produce some memorable victories including the Perth Test victory against a full-strength Australian side.