5 Untested captains India should have tried

In a long history of cricket, India produced some brilliant skippers with the likes of Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, and MS Dhoni.

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KL Rahul
KL Rahul. (Photo Source: Twitter)

In a country of 120 million people, it is quite difficult to represent India in cricket at international level. But, it is not an impossible thing to do. It is known that hockey is the national sport of India. However, cricket is the one that is followed by the fans quite religiously.

When a player begins his career at that time they only aim to be one of those 11 players that take on the field wearing the blue jersey. In a long history of cricket, India produced some brilliant skippers with the likes of Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, MS Dhoni, who etched their name in the history with their on-field brilliance and sharp cricketing mind.

It is one of the aspects that makes cricket look quite good. Meanwhile, there were some players, who had all the elements to lead Team India but never got a single opportunity to show their leadership qualities in their entire career.

Let’s list out five players that India should have tested as a captain for Team India:

1. Yuvraj Singh

Yuvraj Singh
Yuvraj Singh. (Photo Source: Twitter)

Yuvraj Singh bid adieu to international cricket after getting ignored for some time by the Indian selectors. But there was a time when he was a nightmare for any bowler across the globe. From 2005 to 2011, the Punjab-born cricketer helped India in clinching some crucial victories.

He turned out to be the main reason behind India’s triumph in the inaugural edition of T20 World Cup. In the same event, he smacked six sixes in an over of England’s fast bowler Stuart Broad. He was a brilliant fielder, great batsman, and utility bowler. Yuvraj had all the elements of becoming a good skipper. Meanwhile, there was a buzz that he might be appointed as the skipper of the team in ODI format after the departure of Rahul Dravid.

However, that never happened and MS Dhoni was given preference ahead of the left-handed all-rounder. In the future also their came some opportunities, but Indian selectors felt that Yuvraj Singh was never a ‘captain material’.

2. Harbhajan Singh

Harbhajan Singh
Harbhajan Singh of India. (Photo by Hamish Blair/Getty Images)

Harbhajan Singh, the veteran Indian spinner made his debut back in 1998. He went onto become one of the premier spinner for Team India across all the formats. A slim bowler from Punjab hogged the spotlight when he took a hat-trick against Australia back in 2001. His fingers used to create a magic on the field and batsmen used to kneel down against his spin bowling.

Bhajji formed a lethal spin pair with Anil Kumble and they were simply unplayable for any batsmen on their good days. The duo reaped lots of success in the span between 2000 and 2011. In 2008, when Rahul Dravid resigned from the nation’s captaincy at that time Harbhajan Singh was one of the senior players in the side. There was a debate that Indian selectors should go with Punjab born spinner or not. In the end, they picked none other than MS Dhoni, who was quite an inexperience player in comparison to Harbhajan Singh.

Bhajji’s record is not bad at all as a skipper. He led Mumbai Indians to their maiden Champions League trophy back in 2008. Even, he led his franchise in the cash-rich league in the same year.

3. Ravichandran Ashwin

Ravichandran Ashwin
Ravichandran Ashwin of India. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

Ravichandran Ashwin another spinner, who could have been tested as a skipper by the selectors. He has a sharp cricket mind, who keeps on coming with new variations in his bowling. It is one of the main reason due to which he has grabbed a total of 567 wickets across all the formats.

He is one of those unlucky players, who failed to attract the attention of the selectors for the post of captain. He has all the elements of becoming a skipper but sometimes that is not enough for a player.

Ashwin has experience of leading teams in the Kings XI Punjab in the IPL and his TNPL team Dindigul Dragons in the T20 format. At the moment, he is sidelined from the national team in the limited format. But, when it comes to red-ball cricket, he is irreplaceable.

4. KL Rahul

KL Rahul
KL Rahul. (Photo Source: Twitter)

KL Rahul, a multi-talented player that has all the skillset to become the future superstar of Team India. He has emerged as one of the brightest prospects for the national team in the last couple of years. Rahul can do wicketkeeping, play at any position in the batting order. Also, he has proved his worth on and on in the team. whether it is overseas or home conditions.

Rahul has always given breakthrough performances in all the role given to him from his skipper. There is no doubt over the fact that he is a multi-format player, who should have got at least one chance to prove his captaincy skills. It is expected to be an odd decision to pick him as the captain in the presence of players like Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan.

One thing should be kept in mind that Team India got MS Dhoni in the same fashion. So, selectors should have tested Rahul once at that position as well. Moreover, he was recently appointed as the captain of KXIP for IPL 2020.

5. Dinesh Karthik

Dinesh Karthik (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)

Dinesh Karthik, the right-handed wicketkeeper is one of the most unlucky cricketers of Indian cricket history. He is talented, calm, quick behind the stumps and a great finisher. However, this was never enough for Karthik to cement his place in the national team.

Karthik has proved his worth whenever he has got a single opportunity. He was the one, who single-handedly helped Team India in winning the 2018 Nidahas trophy with a six off the last ball. On the same day, he proved that his luck was always against him. And, it was not his mistake to be playing in Dhoni’s era, who is the best in the world when it comes to wicketkeeping and finishing games.

The right-handed wicketkeeper has also done a great job a skipper of Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL. He is one of those players, who never backs down or collapse under tough circumstances. But, comes out and lead his team from the front. This makes him a different league player. However, it is a different thing that he is still struggling to find his place in the national team as the selectors are in search of some fresh legs.

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