Sourav Ganguly or Graeme Smith: Who is the better captain and better overall batter?

[Hasan123]

Both are brilliant batsmen and are very good leaders.

In tests I'll take Smith as player and captain.


In LO I'll take Sourav as player and captain.

Who do you rate higher overall as player and skipper?

Discuss

 

[The_Odd_One]

A very tough comparison:

Both had amazing test teams.
Both failed to win a world cup.

Smith was a better test batsman for sure.
Ganguly was a superior ODI batsman.

Ganguly has a bigger legacy as captain. So, I will give this one to Ganguly.

 

[soso_killer]

If we're talking Test cricket then there's no debate, either batsmanship or captaincy.

Smith resurrected a team in turmoil into a team that went over a decade without losing a series away from home. His legacy will live on forever, a captain who led from the front. The fact that all his centuries never came at a losing cost is testament to that. A great of the game who had to overcome obstacles to be the great that he was. To captain one of the most politicised country in world cricket is no mean feat. He's got my respect.

 

[desirous of desire]

Graeme smith, because I didnt like Ganguly and Dravid biting their nails in matches against Pakistan in tense situations though it was very satisfying.

 

[anuk]

smith obviously in both batting and captaincy.

 

[Buffet]

Smith was surely better in the test format. In ODI, I will take Ganguly.

 

[Hasan123]

I know in the OP I wrote who is better in each format but I want to know who in your opnion is the better captain and better batsmen with there odi,test, and icc tournament performances being taken into consideration.

 

[Justcrazy]

Grame Smith is better batsman , Ganguly was better captain.

 

[Bilal7]

Smith in tests, Ganguly in ODIs and Smith overall because the South African was a better test player than Ganguly was an ODI player.

 

[marlonbrowndo]

Graeme Smith was the better captain in all formats. Smith was the better Test batsman. Ganguly was the better ODI batsman

 

[street cricketer]

Smith in Tests.

Ganguly in ODIs.

 

[Ashraful_Rox]

Graeme Smith in both Tests and ODIs.

 

[jamie smith fan]

graeme smith in both formats

 

[jnaveen1980]

What a bump for no reason lol 8 year old thread

 

[sweep_shot]

Smith was the better captain and better overall batter.

 

[pratiktc]

Smith is a bit underrated ODI batter. He has some gun innings like 90 in 438 chase and CT 141 vs Eng.
Some days when mood took him he could make 70(50) type scores which in 2000s was very rare

 

[chinaman00]

Not even a debate. While Ganguly revived Indian cricket and made them competitive; Graeme Smith was a class above both in captaincy and as a player. Was the only captain to dominate and bully the mighty Australians in their home ground.

 

[Bhaijaan]

Ganguly is one of the greatest captains and in my opinion ahead of Smith as a leader.

Some of the highlights of Ganguly’s captaincy

• He took a bottom tier team to the Top 2/3 levels during his reign.
• Under his captaincy we made the finals of 3 ICC tournaments back to back in 2000, 2002 & 2003. Before that our last appearance in an ICC tournament final was in 1983.
• In 2001 when we won a test match in Zimbabwe under his captaincy, it was our first test victory outside the subcontinent in 15 years. Our 2nd away test victory in 7 years.
• He followed the above with :-
  • West Indies 2002 : First test victory in West Indies in 27 years
  • England 2002 : First in 16 years
  • Australia 2003 : First in 23 years
  • Pakistan 2004 : First ever
• Took over reigns of Bharatiya cricket during the match fixing saga and after Tendulkar gave up captaincy. Kicked all the fixers and non performers of the 1990s out of the team, made the bold decision of selecting 19-21 years group of players like Harbhajan, Yuvraj, Kaif, Nehra, Sehwag etc all of whom became stars and tournament winners for our country in the years to come.
• Ganguly’s leadership in the 2001 Border-Gavaskar series and the historic triumph of ours over the Aussie juggernaut laid the foundations for the mega series that BGT has become today.
• Under Ganguly’s captaincy after ages it felt like our team played as a unit. The team huddle became a thing during the 2003 World Cup and it was a memorable campaign till the final.
• Most people believe that the success in the Dhoni year was on the foundation laid by Ganguly. Ganguly is credited with building the team mentality of winning. Under his captaincy our cricket truly turned many pages.

 

[sweep_shot]

Graeme Smith easily.

Graeme Smith was one of the best captains in the last 30 years. He was also a much better batter.

 

[Mas-LFC]

Greame Smith.

Ganguly was good to watch against spinners though.

 

[Pakistan150-0]

Greame Smith obviously was best...... there is no comparison between the two....

 

[Bhaijaan]

Ganguly took Indian cricket from the gutters and turned it into a tournament contending team in a few years. Won CT in 2002. Made the finals in 2000s, 2003 tournaments.

Smith inherited a tournament contending team and never won any tournament. Didn’t even make to finals.

 

[Hitman]

Ganguly took Indian cricket from the gutters and turned it into a tournament contending team in a few years. Won CT in 2002. Made the finals in 2000s, 2003 tournaments.

Smith inherited a tournament contending team and never won any tournament. Didn’t even make to finals.

Smith solidified the tag of chokers for his team.

 

[DeadlyVenom]

Smith was the better batsman and captain. Ganguly did a fine job too but I feel was lacking in both brtint impact and captaincy compared to Smith.

Smith is a contender for ATG opener and one of the finest test captains the game has produced. His South African test side could go toe to toe with the best sides across the games history.

Ganguly probably laid the foundation for Indian dominance but others actually built upon it. You can make a good comparison with Nasser Hussain in terms of test match legacy ( for those that watched cricket in that time and won't rely solely on Cricinfo stats).

 

[jeeteshssaxena]

Smith better in Tests.
Ganguly is the better batsman in Odis.

Same for their captaincy.

 

[light]

Both were great but I think Ganguly had a higher impact as a captain on his team than Smith. Indians were known to be meek and fragile minded. Ganguly completely changed that attitude. I don't think without Ganguly, modern day Kohli and co would be so assertive on the field.

 

[globetrotter]

Don't know about Graham Smith, but Ganguly definitely not great captain... he was lucky when he was captain BCCI boss was Jagmohan Dalmia..... Dalmia supported Ganguly by arranging more home tours than abroad

 

[sweep_shot]

Smith better in Tests.
Ganguly is the better batsman in Odis.

Same for their captaincy.

Smith won Test series in England, Australia, and NZ. Smith also drew in India.

What did Ganguly win in Test as a captain?

Smith was a better captain than Ganguly and achieved more too.

 

[BunnyRabbit]

Smith in all formats and as a captain.
Cemented SA as a powerhouse test team that snatched the crown from Australia and kept it away from team like England. SA in tests fell as soon as he left.
Couldn't help SA shed the choker tag which still remains.
Is a very underrated Test and ODI batter as well.

 

[BouncerGuy]

Useless bump to just divert attention... Who cares about them atm... ?

 

[jeeteshssaxena]

Smith won Test series in England, Australia, and NZ. Smith also drew in India.

What did Ganguly win in Test as a captain?

Smith was a better captain than Ganguly and achieved more too.

Yeah thats why I rate smith higher in tests and lower in odis. Read the post properly.

 

[globetrotter]

Ajit Wadekar and Azharuddin are more successful as captain than Ganguly

 

[jeeteshssaxena]

Ajit Wadekar and Azharuddin are more successful as captain than Ganguly

Azhar? Why?

 

[globetrotter]

Azhar? Why?

How Ganguly become famous... you must be remembering 2002 latest final... when India was 146 for 5 wkts chasing eng 327..
Yuvraj and Kaif batted superbly and wins the final. Source Ganguly removed his t-**** and waved in air.... from that moment Ganguly become more popular.... at that time majority of media consists of Bengali reports, they termed him as most successful Indian captain. At that time when I checked his captaimcy record his most wins at home and less win abroad..... Ganguly was lucky bcos Dalmia backed him lot and arranged more home tours.

Ajit Wadekar had won very tough series by beating west indies in their home in 1970 and also beating england in their home.

Azharudding have most ODI series wins than Ganguly.