Best leaders/tacticians who have not captained their country

[BunnyRabbit]

It's about those players who were widely lauded for their tactics and leadership qualities but weren't able to captain their international team in a more permanent basis. Interim captains or captains with one off games can also be included.

For example, Shane Warne is frequently called as one of the best captains to never have captained Australia. Similarly, there have been other players who either couldn't make it into the international side or if they did, were passed over for the captaincy slot for various reasons. Mike Brearly has been one such instance who was considered not good enough as a batsman but was highly regarded for his leadership abilities and was since named England's captain for quite a successful stint.

Who do you think are such guys?

In my opinion,
Brad Haddin (A natural and aggressive leader for whom when the opportunity came, he selflessly passed it over to Steve Smith citing the future and his own age)

Gary Kirsten ( A very good tactician and man manager, could have made a brilliant captain)

Thilana Kandamby (Possibly the least known player, but a very good and credible captain in Sri Lankan domestic scene, but considered to be a future captain but was never able to nail down his spot in the team)

 

[Saj]

Umar Akmal
Ahmed Shehzad

These are 2 legends who immediately spring to mind as leaders and captains.

 

[Ab Fan]

Gautam Gambhir from India is up there.

 

[Titan24]

Gautham Ghambir was a pretty good tactician but I think he never get to captain India as obviously Dhoni was there.

Paul Collingwood was good tactician and captained Eng to ICC T20 world cup but that was too late when he became the captain as he could have captained test and Odi sides as well earlier.

Shoaib Malik was one of the best minds of cricket I have seen, though he captained for a while but I think he could have done a lot more and could have achieved a lot more as a captain, he was removed early.

He and Dhoni became captain at almost same time after 2007 WC debacle of both teams. I always wonder if we would have kept Malik as captain like India did in case of Dhoni he would also have achieved a lot of things at that time.

 

[Titan24]

Gautam Gambhir from India is up there.

Just posted and saw your comment.

 

[DeadBall]

Shoaib Malik was one of the best minds of cricket I have seen, though he captained for a while but I think he could have done a lot more and could have achieved a lot more as a captain, he was removed early.

Has done really well in the local circuit over the years. Also known to give youngsters a chance and back them.

 

[kingusama92]

Umar Akmal
Ahmed Shehzad

These are 2 legends who immediately spring to mind as leaders and captains.

Extremely saddened by your complete disregard for Faisal Iqbal.

 

[ManFan]

Warnie and it’s not even close.

The ACB were terrified as to what might happen if they made him captain if as vice-captain he could engage in sexting scandals and bookie conferences along with all the other good stuff.

He has won in the IPL, the T20 All-Stars, the Lords’ Celebration Match and captained Australia to ten out of eleven ODI matches he oversaw.

Part of his captaincy lie in his unique approach to the game. Ian Chappell mentions him captaining Victoria against Queensland and QL needing six runs for victory. With seven fielders, he gave his bowler, Fleming, some slips and catchers, which led to a sensational victory.

Whether it’s the “Come on, Come on!” 99’ SF celebration or the Lara bouncer followed by a half-volley that led to his ultimate dismissal, Warne would have been the perfect captain for THAT Australian team.

 

[silent ischemia]

Asif Mujtaba

 

[Hasan123]

Shane Warne

 

[TQ89]

Most Indian pundits regard ravi shastri as a good leader who never had the chance to captain India.

 

[TQ89]

In pakistan, i cant think of anybody in recent times, cause almost all senior players have been offered captaincy for period of one or two years. Like currently, we have four captain/ex-captains in our side (Sarfu, Hafeez, Malik & Azhar). Our experts used to hype Ahmed shehzad a lot & call him future captain so maybe he can be considered

 

[introvert]

Shane warne
Gautam gambhir

 

[UN talkz]

In pakistan, i cant think of anybody in recent times, cause almost all senior players have been offered captaincy for period of one or two years. Like currently, we have four captain/ex-captains in our side (Sarfu, Hafeez, Malik & Azhar). Our experts used to hype Ahmed shehzad a lot & call him future captain so maybe he can be considered

Mazaak bohat achaa karte hou aap )

 

[InziRules]

Mazaak bohat achaa karte hou aap )

Remember this gem

http://www.pakpassion.net/ppforum/s...n-be-groomed-as-a-Future-Captain-for-Pakistan

ALL THESE CLAIMS ARE BASED ON HIS DOMESTIC/INTERNATIONAL PERFORMANCES AND ALSO 1 INTERVIEW.

MAKE UMAR AMIN CAPTAIN TO MAKE PAKISTAN ANGRAIZ AGAIN!

 

[TQ89]

Mazaak bohat achaa karte hou aap )

Hahahahahaha I tried my best to come up with a pakistani name

 

[BunnyRabbit]

Gautham Ghambir was a pretty good tactician but I think he never get to captain India as obviously Dhoni was there.

Paul Collingwood was good tactician and captained Eng to ICC T20 world cup but that was too late when he became the captain as he could have captained test and Odi sides as well earlier.

Shoaib Malik was one of the best minds of cricket I have seen, though he captained for a while but I think he could have done a lot more and could have achieved a lot more as a captain, he was removed early.

He and Dhoni became captain at almost same time after 2007 WC debacle of both teams. I always wonder if we would have kept Malik as captain like India did in case of Dhoni he would also have achieved a lot of things at that time.

Collingwood was made captain back in 2008 but he didn't want to do the leadership of all formats. Flower later came on and convinced him to just stay on as T20 captain.

Shoaib Malik was a good leader and was popular with youngsters but back then there was way too much grouping and infighting thanks to Yousaf, Kamran, Rana Naved, he wasn't in a good space plus he was a bit weak mentally that time as well

 

[Sher Khan]

Kevin Pietersen, a good tactician but I’m not sure if he would have got on well with his players.

 

[BunnyRabbit]

Kevin Pietersen, a good tactician but I’m not sure if he would have got on well with his players.

Kp's tactics are over rated for some reason. He got his opportunity in England and blew it up after falling out with Peter Moores, then he got another go at captaincy in IPL and his team finished last.

 

[Sunny_majoka]

Imad wasim

 

[idrizzy]

Warnie and it’s not even close.

The ACB were terrified as to what might happen if they made him captain if as vice-captain he could engage in sexting scandals and bookie conferences along with all the other good stuff.

He has won in the IPL, the T20 All-Stars, the Lords’ Celebration Match and captained Australia to ten out of eleven ODI matches he oversaw.

Part of his captaincy lie in his unique approach to the game. Ian Chappell mentions him captaining Victoria against Queensland and QL needing six runs for victory. With seven fielders, he gave his bowler, Fleming, some slips and catchers, which led to a sensational victory.

Whether it’s the “Come on, Come on!” 99’ SF celebration or the Lara bouncer followed by a half-volley that led to his ultimate dismissal, Warne would have been the perfect captain for THAT Australian team.

Great insight, really interesting. We've had a bit of Warne in the comm box and he seems outlandish and would've been a really interesting captain for sure.

 

[ManFan]

Kp's tactics are over rated for some reason. He got his opportunity in England and blew it up after falling out with Peter Moores, then he got another go at captaincy in IPL and his team finished last.

The words Kevin Pieterson and captaincy do not belong in the same sentence together.

 

[Abdul]

Shadab Khan.

 

[ManFan]

Shadab Khan.

Bro, he’s nineteen and a year and half into international cricket.

 

[BunnyRabbit]

Great insight, really interesting. We've had a bit of Warne in the comm box and he seems outlandish and would've been a really interesting captain for sure.

Michael Clarke's tactics were pretty similar to how Warne's would have been. I read somewhere Clarke used to discuss tactics with Warne and was hugely inspired by him. But Warne might have brought another force considering his charisma and presence something majority of the cricketers would lack. I think if Warne was to captain a bit weaker team in subcontinent, his tactics might have backfired a lot. You need patience in subcontinent, being over aggressive will only cost you. But tbh Waugh in my opinion was a better captain than Warne, he did his job, left a legacy plus you didn't need to be an innovative out of the box leader to lead that Australian team of 1996-2000s

 

[Robert]

Graeme Swann. Very much the brains trust of the England sides he played in.

 

[BaankeJi]

Most Indian pundits regard ravi shastri as a good leader who never had the chance to captain India.

He did captain India on a few occasions. And his captaincy was indeed good.

 

[giri26]

Shane Warne is the only name which comes to mind for me. He captained a team like Rajasthan Royals in season 1 of IPL to victory. That was a low profile team with very less superstars.

 

[TQ89]

He did captain India on a few occasions. And his captaincy was indeed good.

Really, I though he just captained india in one test match in the 80's & was vice captain during kapil dev/vengraskar era.

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

Most Indian pundits regard ravi shastri as a good leader who never had the chance to captain India.

Well he is doing it now too with Kohli.

 

[Ozymandiasza]

Shane Warne is the only name which comes to mind for me. He captained a team like Rajasthan Royals in season 1 of IPL to victory. That was a low profile team with very less superstars.

Agreed. As commentator he articulates his ideas and strategies well, but he sounds like a micromanager who would like to control every little thing. Still, he would have probably made an excellent captain.

 

[BunnyRabbit]

Agreed. As commentator he articulates his ideas and strategies well, but he sounds like a micromanager who would like to control every little thing. Still, he would have probably made an excellent captain.

Would he have made a better captain than Steve Waugh? IMO, not really. But I guess we will never really know.