Who was the better captain: Imran Khan or Sourav Ganguly?

[msb314]

As in the title - who was the better captain considering all formats?

Imran Khan is arguably our greatest ever cricketer and also our greatest ever captain. He led a formidable team in the 1980's and early 1990's that remained undefeated against WI during most of the 80's and also beat Indian in Indian soil. We had a lost of Test successes during that time period and were considered to be the no. 2 team in the world only behind WI.

No one can forget our memorably 1992 WC win led by IK as underdogs and so it remains our greatest sporting achievement. Failing to win the 1987 WC on home soil was disappointing but at least we reached the SF's.

Saurav Ganguly took over captain of the ODI and Test teams for India in 2000 after a period where India often flattered to deceive and under-perform for many years despite having many talented players like Azharuddin, Sidhu, Jadeja, Sachin, Kambli etc. He united the team and led them to tremendous heights including the no. 1 ranking in ODI's and Tests by 2008. His test exploits will forever remain associated with the iconic Kolkota Test of 2001 where the indomitable were finally defeated and Indian went on to win many famous overseas Test series including Pakistan in 2004 and England in 2007 along with the drawn Test series IN Australia in 2003/04.

In ODI's - Ganguly led India to the 2000 ICC Knockout Trophy final only to lose to NZ and also shared the first ever ICC Champions Trophy with SL. He then led them to the final of 2003 WC only to lose to Australia. Other notable achievements include chasing 326 vs England in the 2002 Natwest final, reaching the final of the Asia Cup in 2004 and also beating Pakistan in bilaterals in 2004 and 2006.

Towards the latter years of his career - Ganguly's legacy was somewhat tarnished by his own poor form from 2004 on-wards and also his public spat with Greg Chappell and India's poor form in the 2007 WC. Unfortunately - he never won an ICC trophy but laid the groundwork for the dominating and incredibly team that India is today. IMO - he remains India's greatest ever captain.

What are your thoughts?

 

[hadi123]

Tbh I am too young so haven't seen any of them play but IK left a legacy when he won the 1992 WC. And I am Pakistani so I vote IK

 

[msb314]

I never saw IK play / captain - just heard about the legend over the years

However, I did see Ganguly captain through out my childhood and can accurately assess that he was one of the greatest captains I ever saw.

 

[Bubby]

I respect Imran for what he did for Pakistan cricket especially fast bowling, but for me the great leaders are those who not only turnaround the situation in the field but off the field as well, year 2000 was the darkest phase in world cricket more so for Indian cricket because of match fixing scandal in which high profile Cricketers were caught like azharuddin and Jadeja, plus on field Indian team was performing poorly we were shot for 54 against Lanka remember, most importantly public was questioning the integrity of players and each bad performance was doubted as if it was fixed, to turn that situation around and selecting newbies and turning them into world beaters by giving them faith and showing confidence is something remarkable although he lost a lot of finals but he created a platform for the upcoming generations to not only work upon but cash in as well, for me ganguly Wright combo was arguably the best captain coach combo ever simply because they turned around the whole culture, the other combo I can think of is border Simpson

 

[Bubby]

But Simpson was not the coach if I am not wrong.

 

[Bubby]

So ganguly, Imran and rantunga are the greatest Asian captains ever

 

[Bubby]

Although I would put ganguly 3rd in the list of all time captains after border and Clive Lloyd

 

[Bubby]

I always believe the greatest captains are those who not only thinks about present but also future, by future I mean not 8-10 years but beyond that.

 

[Tyler Durden]

IK for sure! Coming to India, I would rate Dhoni high any day! Never liked Ganguly's ODI captaincy!

 

[Abdul]

Ganguly.

 

[HuzaifaE]

Imran, 0 question. Ganguly isn't even the best Indian captain, I rate Dhoni higher, even factoring in all the "platform building" he did.

 

[Rightarmfast]

Like someone said before, a great captain is one who thinks of the future. While Imran Khan as a player was mighty influence on cricket, the kind of changes Ganguly brought about in Indian cricket is phenomenal.

Ganguly changed the whole mindset of Indian players, no longer are they meek, subdued. Indian players now have aggression which Ganguly developed. Ganguly also brought in a fast bowling culture and encouraged bowlers with pace. The result is for everyone to see. Ganguly's era saw a lot of players from smaller towns making their debut. Cricket was no more confined to Mumbai lobby! His successor, Dhoni comes from a nonexistent state Bihar, now Jharkhand.
In a nutshell, Ganguly laid the foundation for a progressive indian team, he set a system. Indian cricket has only gone up from that era. And we need to thank Ganguly for that.

So Ganguly is easily the best captain from Asia and perhaps one of the best captains ever in the world.

 

[Justcrazy]

Imran.

 

[Hitman]

Both were extremely influential captains for their respective countries.

 

[pkckt]

Imran by a country mile. If not for him there would be no Wasim and Waqar and we know how much these two have influenced the heart of our young cricketers. Pakistan went from being minnows to a team that was only second to WI of that era. His bringing of players like Inzi and the 2 Ws alone won us many matches for decades to come. He also had the personality of a true leader every Pakistani tried to copy his looks and character, this world will never witness such a phenomenon for years to come.
In my opinion Dhoni was a much better Indian captain

 

[Pakistanian]

Khan was a natural leader, he commanded respect like the Alpha he was. Ganguly from what I remember from the few matches I watched of his always had a worried or anxious look on his face.

Also as an American sports fan, we measure success in terms of championships/titles won and all round abilities, so that regard Khan takes the cake - he's a world champ, more over he was an all rounder unlike Ganguly who was primarily a batsmen. Khan is what we would call in basketball a "two-way player" and for that he gets my respect.

Only Dhoni would come close to Khan in terms of leadership and may rank better cause of the number of titles he's won however he didn't retire on a high unlike Khan whl ended his career the way every pro athlete dreams of - winning a world championship, even Michael Jordan couldn't do that, he retired way past his prime.

Khan is the greatest captain in world sports, not just cricket. Ganguly may have transformed India into a respectable team and title contenders but he couldn't turn them into title winners.

 

[Sidilicious]

Khan was a natural leader, he commanded respect like the Alpha he was. Ganguly from what I remember from the few matches I watched of his always had a worried or anxious look on his face.

Also as an American sports fan, we measure success in terms of championships/titles won and all round abilities, so that regard Khan takes the cake - he's a world champ, more over he was an all rounder unlike Ganguly who was primarily a batsmen. Khan is what we would call in basketball a "two-way player" and for that he gets my respect.

Only Dhoni would come close to Khan in terms of leadership and may rank better cause of the number of titles he's won however he didn't retire on a high unlike Khan whl ended his career the way every pro athlete dreams of - winning a world championship, even Michael Jordan couldn't do that, he retired way past his prime.

Khan is the greatest captain in world sports, not just cricket. Ganguly may have transformed India into a respectable team and title contenders but he couldn't turn them into title winners.

Greatest captain of the modern era is either Alan Border or Clive Lloyd. Border took a faltering Australian Team to
1. A World Cup win
2. Built the team that would dominate another 4 world cups (96 -07)
3. Made a weak Aus team into world no.1 test team, and built the foundation which would remain no.1 for another decade.

Imran could have been Alan Border level, but Pakistan team imploded (bit of an exaggeration, but you get my point) as soon as he left. After WI, Pakistan should have taken the mantle of no.1 test team, but they did not. Despite having a great ODI side, they could only make one more final, for the next decade after Immy's departure. So basically, Alan Border did all that Imran did, and much more.

But my main concern on your topic was not with regards to Imran, Border or Lloyd.

I think you are being disingenuous if you say Dhoni was a greater captain than Ganguly. Dhoni, without a a shadow was the better ODI tactician. In fact, I would go far enough to say that he has been the greatest ODI tactician ever. But he was a pretty poor tactician in test. He was also a decent man manager.

But Ganguly was next Level in man management. He was very Imran'esque in terms of inspiring his team to fight from no where. In fact, like Imran he also was not a great tactician. Imran was lucky to Javed Miandad in his team, who was a brilliant tactician. Thus, in Ganguly's tenure, India might not have not won much, because he did not have the tactics to cross the last hurdle. But they competed and fought like no Indian team had done before. Many a times they would be dead and buried and India would come back and win. On top of that, Ganguly built the team that was the core that went to become world no.1 and win the WC. Ganguly was instrumental in the selection of Sewage, Harbhajan, Yuvraj, Zaheer and Kaif in the team.

I remember very well, just before the 2001 series against Aus, Ganguly fought with selectors, threatening to step down if Harbhajan was not selected in the test series against Aus. The rest, as they say, is history.

 

[lehen]

IK was a better Leader, the main reason behind that is IK had only 2-3 ATG in his team and made a relatively weak PK team scale great heights on the other hand Ganguly has the luxury of having 6-7 ATGs in his team. In Odis IK's contribution is even more valued as he himself wasn't an ATG in Odis which Ganguly is and hence I personally rate IK a better leader bcz he was able to overcome lot of shortcomings

 

[BlackShadow]

Khan was a natural leader, he commanded respect like the Alpha he was. Ganguly from what I remember from the few matches I watched of his always had a worried or anxious look on his face.

Also as an American sports fan, we measure success in terms of championships/titles won and all round abilities, so that regard Khan takes the cake - he's a world champ, more over he was an all rounder unlike Ganguly who was primarily a batsmen. Khan is what we would call in basketball a "two-way player" and for that he gets my respect.

Only Dhoni would come close to Khan in terms of leadership and may rank better cause of the number of titles he's won however he didn't retire on a high unlike Khan whl ended his career the way every pro athlete dreams of - winning a world championship, even Michael Jordan couldn't do that, he retired way past his prime.

Khan is the greatest captain in world sports, not just cricket. Ganguly may have transformed India into a respectable team and title contenders but he couldn't turn them into title winners.

Retiring on a high has nothing to do with your comparison. You are judging them as captains and that's where the comparison should end. Dhoni hasn't been captain for a long time now, and going by your American way of measuring success, he should be ahead.

 

[Mirpur express]

IK by a mile. no one comes close..

 

[BlackShadow]

IK was a better Leader, the main reason behind that is IK had only 2-3 ATG in his team and made a relatively weak PK team scale great heights on the other hand Ganguly has the luxury of having 6-7 ATGs in his team. In Odis IK's contribution is even more valued as he himself wasn't an ATG in Odis which Ganguly is and hence I personally rate IK a better leader bcz he was able to overcome lot of shortcomings

Who?

 

[Hitman]

IK was a better Leader, the main reason behind that is IK had only 2-3 ATG in his team and made a relatively weak PK team scale great heights on the other hand Ganguly has the luxury of having 6-7 ATGs in his team. In Odis IK's contribution is even more valued as he himself wasn't an ATG in Odis which Ganguly is and hence I personally rate IK a better leader bcz he was able to overcome lot of shortcomings

Really? Can you name them? Sachin .... then?

 

[Bleedgreen4ever]

Really? Can you name them? Sachin .... then?

Sachin
Sehwag
Dravid
Laxman
Azhar

 

[Hitman]

Sachin
Sehwag
Dravid
Laxman
Azhar

Wow, so Azhar played under Ganguly?

Also, Sehwag and Laxman are ATG?

 

[Ab Fan]

Really? Can you name them? Sachin .... then?

Gavaskar
Kapil
Tendulkar
Dravid
Dhoni
Kohli

I can think of 6 ATGs from India from tests and odis seperately over the history.

How can there be 6-7 in Ganguly's era?

 

[Railu Katta]

One is a world cup winning captain and perhaps the greatest all-rounder in cricket. The other is a nobody but a decent indian batsman.

 

[anoop]

Gavaskar
Kapil
Tendulkar
Dravid
Dhoni
Kohli

I can think of 6 ATGs from India from tests and odis seperately over the history.

How can there be 6-7 in Ganguly's era?

Sehwag in tests and yuvi in odis are no less than any ATG. Ganguly's success against pakistan in test was more because of Sehwag than any other ATG.

 

[anoop]

One is a world cup winning captain and perhaps the greatest all-rounder in cricket. The other is a nobody but a decent indian batsman.

That nobody is better odi batsman than anybody Pak has ever produced.

 

[Railu Katta]

That nobody is better odi batsman than anybody Pak has ever produced.

Only in your mind )

 

[Hitman]

Only in your mind )

Let's see, 11363 runs @ 41.02, with 22 centuries. Let's see any batsman from Pakistan with a more impressive ODI record than that?

 

[Proactive_]

Ganguly was the first true leader Indian cricket had after Pataudi. The way he was instrumental in transforming the team after the lows of the Match Fixing saga is exemplary. Easily the best Indian captain I've seen. He was what "aggression" was all about in true sense, unlike some of today's captains.

 

[WhenSultansBowled]

Depends on who you ask to

All Pakistanis except one will say IK

Most Indian will say Ganguly

IMO IK was the best Captain of the two.

Ganguly paved the way for current Indian team! A huge feat as well.

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

Biased towards Ganguly.

 

[PakLFC]

Imran Khan. He built a team from top to bottom and even resigned from the captaincy when politicians wanted their players in. Ganguly was good as well but my vote is for IK. I'd say Dhoni the captain was better then Ganguly as well.

 

[Bubby]

IK was a better Leader, the main reason behind that is IK had only 2-3 ATG in his team and made a relatively weak PK team scale great heights on the other hand Ganguly has the luxury of having 6-7 ATGs in his team. In Odis IK's contribution is even more valued as he himself wasn't an ATG in Odis which Ganguly is and hence I personally rate IK a better leader bcz he was able to overcome lot of shortcomings

Ik had mushy ,wasim ,waqar, Javed, Sohial, Malik etc, where as ganguly had Tendulkar ,kumble and Dravid, he picked sehwag, yuvi, zak, bhajji, irfan ,nehra and laxman plus kaif

 

[Bubby]

He also picked dhoni

 

[Raja Sab]

Ganguly, Dravid, Dhoni all above Imran Khan imo

 

[iniqbal223]

Ganguly, to any captain dead or alive.

Every team had one or two fantastic captains that changed the fortune of their team. Be it Steve Waugh, Imran Khan, Clive Lloyd, Allan Border, etc. But Ganguly case was entirely different.

Imran Khan : When he took reins, he still had good players, but the team was not cohesive to win enough matches. He bring team together. Also, leading by example, he made sure fitness standard of the team remains high.( That was , I believe the only time when our player's fitness was great) He gave that SWAG to the team, allowing everyone to just go there and dominate. I will take an example of car. IK made a good car a racing car.

While, IK made a functioning car to a race car. Ganguly was not even handled a car, he started with a rickshaw (cycled by Sachin, who was carrying the entire team). Just look at what the team Ganguly got (such a pathetic team) full of Nayan Mongia's ( Version of Kamran Akmal), Venkatesh Prasads, Sadgoppan Ramesh's, Vankatpathy Raju's, and match fixers Jadeja and Azharuddin I mean these were their best 11. He not only structured the team with the introduction of U-19 players [Zaheer Khan , Yuvraj Singh, Md. Kaif, Harbhajan, Sehwag, Dhoni, Nehra, Pathan] who later became future stars of Indian cricket. So not only he thought about the current scenario, but also gave full backing to the future stars. Plus, he made sure no recycled players such as Mongia's, Prasad's, Raju's, Mohanty's come back to display their mediocrity.

So, in my view, the impact Ganguly had for Indian team for long run, is far better than the impact other great captains had on their respective team.

 

[Bubby]

Ganguly, to any captain dead or alive.

Every team had one or two fantastic captains that changed the fortune of their team. Be it Steve Waugh, Imran Khan, Clive Lloyd, Allan Border, etc. But Ganguly case was entirely different.

Imran Khan : When he took reins, he still had good players, but the team was not cohesive to win enough matches. He bring team together. Also, leading by example, he made sure fitness standard of the team remains high.( That was , I believe the only time when our player's fitness was great) He gave that SWAG to the team, allowing everyone to just go there and dominate. I will take an example of car. IK made a good car a racing car.

While, IK made a functioning car to a race car. Ganguly was not even handled a car, he started with a rickshaw (cycled by Sachin, who was carrying the entire team). Just look at what the team Ganguly got (such a pathetic team) full of Nayan Mongia's ( Version of Kamran Akmal), Venkatesh Prasads, Sadgoppan Ramesh's, Vankatpathy Raju's, and match fixers Jadeja and Azharuddin I mean these were their best 11. He not only structured the team with the introduction of U-19 players [Zaheer Khan , Yuvraj Singh, Md. Kaif, Harbhajan, Sehwag, Dhoni, Nehra, Pathan] who later became future stars of Indian cricket. So not only he thought about the current scenario, but also gave full backing to the future stars. Plus, he made sure no recycled players such as Mongia's, Prasad's, Raju's, Mohanty's come back to display their mediocrity.

So, in my view, the impact Ganguly had for Indian team for long run, is far better than the impact other great captains had on their respective team.

exactly very well put up

 

[Ab Fan]

Sehwag in tests and yuvi in odis are no less than any ATG. Ganguly's success against pakistan in test was more because of Sehwag than any other ATG.

Sehwag is nowhere near an ATG in test. He averages 20s in three countries and I recall him throwing his wickets pretty unnecessarily on many occassions. I dont see in Sehwag what I expect from ATGs. He never really showed grit to grind out in conditions where he was struggling. But still a genius for some of the things he did over his career. Not an ATG but I will call him a genius.

Yuvi was a fantastic LOI batsmen and a T20 ATG and I am a big fan of his LOI batting( one of th favourites players) but far too inconsistent for an ATG. An average of 36 is good as per his era but not ATG materials really.

 

[iniqbal223]

In short , for three generations of Indian cricket

Ganguly : Inherited rubbish system, mediocre players, Match Fixing
Transformed it to a surprisingly, wonderful machinery, that started winning important matches. They started to believe that they can win without Sachin, and they can win outside India against any opposition.

Dhoni : Inherited great team India possibly could have
Developed a culture of playing sensible cricket. Chase down any target. And won everything they could.

Kohli : Inherited the best cricketing system
Continued to strengthen it. Leading by example, in play, fitness, commitment. Imparted these values in younger players.

 

[iniqbal223]

Three generations for Pak cricket (those who remained captain for 2+ years):

Inzi : Inherited ouster of 8/9 seniors
Limited in his captaincy capability, but always a performer. In his tenure he did the rebuilding of team , which was required out of him, perfectly, although end was horrific. Introduced many youngsters in the team , though many did not capitalize on their starts.

Malik/Younis/Yousuf/Butt: No mentions

Afridi : Inherited the team when it in doldrums of match fixing saga.
Tried to replicate IK, in returning SWAG back to Pakistan team. But his own performance was not good. In many occasions, he was more miss than hits. Consequently, could not inspire his team, because of his rash decisions, and impulsive behavior. Overall, his stint was below par except for reaching semi finals in WC.

Misbah : He also inherited the match fixing scene
In contrast to Afridi, he became consistent in his approach. Bring the pride back to Pak. There was some stability in the team. Most mature Pakistani captain. Given the time of being captain for 6+ years, he could have left team in much better position. Biggest flaw : his thinking that test match is an old man's game. Therefore, we saw introduction/ reintroduction of oldies such as Tanvir Ahmed, Zulfiqar Babar, Aizaz Cheema, Abdur Rehman, etc.

With what happened to Pak cricket , when he took charge, he could have at least given a settled opening pair for Pakistan.

 

[PakLFC]

Ik had mushy ,wasim ,waqar, Javed, Sohial, Malik etc, where as ganguly had Tendulkar ,kumble and Dravid, he picked sehwag, yuvi, zak, bhajji, irfan ,nehra and laxman plus kaif

IK did not have anything. He was the one who bought in Mushy, Wasim, Inzi and Waqar in to the side so credit goes to him for that. He saw the amazing potential in them, the rest is history. Ganguly introduced some talent as well but they were no way near as good as one's IK bought in.

 

[iniqbal223]

Impact of Ganguly in transforming Indian cricket was remarkable.

I still remember, when I lived in UK, and I had many Indian friends. They used to turn off the TV when Sachin was out. One time I asked them, why they don't watch the match after Sachin gets out. They said, do you think others can do it. [And they were passionate Indian cricket fans, who watched every single game, and cheered for their country]. May be they were passionate yet rational in their approach. I also understand Indian media never hyped up their useless players. Their media knows how to make $. They know if they hype up or market the correct product , they will earn more, people will listen to them more, and their credibility will remain.

And here, I see every single domestic oldie, gives interviews in media, criticize players of Misbah, Sarfaraz calibre. And yes, the ever green marketing of players like Khurram Manzoor, Umar Akmal,etc. I mean what media sees in them. They are tried and tested failures. Khurram Manzoor was all over the place in Asia Cup. Common yaar, you can't have player like him who could not hold the bat properly, was looking to slog every bowl. Was given opportunity against minnow (UAE) as well, and failed terribly.

And Akmal brothers: They are classic case study to be taught in Media and Communication schools. How to hype up or market pathetic products?

 

[iniqbal223]

Ganguly had only Tendulkar at that time.

Kumble was all over the place at that time( wasn't even a certain starters in 11), and Dravid was 3 years old in international cricket, with a tag that he is a test match player only.

 

[iniqbal223]

IK had players (obviously not Mushy, Was, Waqar,etc) but not a team. He had players like Javed, Malik, etc. who were match winners in themselves. But the concept that , cricket is a team game was missing before he became captain.

 

[moghul]

Comparing IK, with Ganguli, is a joke or somethig ?. WHo was the better batsman, Tendulkar or Imran Farhat ?

 

[Hasan123]

I'm a Ganguly fan but IK is the better captain.

 

[Bubby]

This.

You can spend hours analysing but Ganguly was scared of the short ball and when the game was on an edge he nearly had a break down. This is not a leader.

So if a guy has problems with a particular delivery he is a wuss, by the way he paved way for India in that famous test tour of Australia by hitting a hundred at Brisbane, he wasn't scared, it's just that he wasn't comfortable facing bouncers, by that logic Imran used bottle caps to extract reverse and its words that he use to Temper.

 

[big_gamer007]

Only 2-3 posters here have witnessed IK’s captaincy and there opinions matter much more than people who are biased or are basing their opinions of reading stories and myths online..
[MENTION=79064]MMHS[/MENTION] [MENTION=132062]Harsh Thakor[/MENTION] [MENTION=134300]Tusker[/MENTION] [MENTION=142162]Napa[/MENTION] [MENTION=7774]Robert[/MENTION]

Can you guys give your opinion and comparisons good and bad of both the captains?

 

[big_gamer007]

Only in your mind )

Ganguly is better than any ODI batsmen pak has ever produced.. for a period of few years he was one of the best batsmen in the world.. In tests he was average but in ODI’s he’s better than Anwar, inzi, Miandad and Zaheer..

 

[indipper]

Imran Khan is way overrated in Pakistan. At that time Pakistan cricket was in booming phase. Even a blind would have led them to more victories.

Ganguly was good. But Dhoni is ATG and better than any of them.

 

[Napa]

Only 2-3 posters here have witnessed IK’s captaincy and there opinions matter much more than people who are biased or are basing their opinions of reading stories and myths online..
[MENTION=79064]MMHS[/MENTION] [MENTION=132062]Harsh Thakor[/MENTION] [MENTION=134300]Tusker[/MENTION] [MENTION=142162]Napa[/MENTION] [MENTION=7774]Robert[/MENTION]

Can you guys give your opinion and comparisons good and bad of both the captains?

Both were exceptional captains, who changed the character of their teams. Both made their teams more professional and turned them into winners.

IK was a larger than life personality who has remained in the limelight due to his involvement in his country's politics. IK's achievements when he was the captain (the WC and his Test victories) are more than Ganguly's, but I think Ganguly had a more lasting effect on Indian cricket.

 

[moghul]

Imran Khan is way overrated in Pakistan. At that time Pakistan cricket was in booming phase. Even a blind would have led them to more victories.

Ganguly was good. But Dhoni is ATG and better than any of them.

Yes. overrated, did not do much as captain other than beating India in India ( first time ), beating England in England ( first time ), almost beating mighty West Indies in West indies and won the world cup, that's all

 

[Ab Fan]

People confuse Dhoni's captaincy in odis to tests. Dhoni was nothing more than an average test captain and in test format, he is nowhere near Ganguly or Imran.

Ganguly was an excellent captain in tests and odis both and India's greatest captain.

However, in limited overs format, Dhoni is not only India's greatest captain but of all-time.

 

[indipper]

Yes. overrated, did not do much as captain other than beating India in India ( first time ), beating England in England ( first time ), almost beating mighty West Indies in West indies and won the world cup, that's all

Look at the calibre of the players back then. He's only taking credit.

 

[KingKhanWC]

So if a guy has problems with a particular delivery he is a wuss, by the way he paved way for India in that famous test tour of Australia by hitting a hundred at Brisbane, he wasn't scared, it's just that he wasn't comfortable facing bouncers, by that logic Imran used bottle caps to extract reverse and its words that he use to Temper.

You miss the point out of your love for Ganguly. A great captain or a great leader is someone who is fearless. Imran had no fear of anything on the filed of play, Ganguly was like a scared little boy. He was captain of India's greatest ever batting line up, so he won a few matches.

 

[Kohrodha123]

Ganguly for me

 

[The_Odd_One]

Khan

A very important factor for me is how much responsibility a player takes as a captain.

Khan lifted his game. Ganguly was embarrassing.

 

[sshakir411]

You miss the point out of your love for Ganguly. A great captain or a great leader is someone who is fearless. Imran had no fear of anything on the filed of play, Ganguly was like a scared little boy. He was captain of India's greatest ever batting line up, so he won a few matches.

Ganguly just didn't have the mettle to confront others. Neither as a batsman nor as captain.

 

[msb314]

I respect Imran for what he did for Pakistan cricket especially fast bowling, but for me the great leaders are those who not only turnaround the situation in the field but off the field as well, year 2000 was the darkest phase in world cricket more so for Indian cricket because of match fixing scandal in which high profile Cricketers were caught like azharuddin and Jadeja, plus on field Indian team was performing poorly we were shot for 54 against Lanka remember, most importantly public was questioning the integrity of players and each bad performance was doubted as if it was fixed, to turn that situation around and selecting newbies and turning them into world beaters by giving them faith and showing confidence is something remarkable although he lost a lot of finals but he created a platform for the upcoming generations to not only work upon but cash in as well, for me ganguly Wright combo was arguably the best captain coach combo ever simply because they turned around the whole culture, the other combo I can think of is border Simpson

Good post!

Ganguly gave opportunities to Dravid, Sehwag, Laxman and also younger players like Raina, Gambhir, Dhoni, Yuvraj and Kaif who were able to transform India into an aggressive / fighting unit.

 

[giri26]

Ganguly was the first true leader Indian cricket had after Pataudi. The way he was instrumental in transforming the team after the lows of the Match Fixing saga is exemplary. Easily the best Indian captain I've seen. He was what "aggression" was all about in true sense, unlike some of today's captains.

Wow..This probably one of the very few positive posts from you about Indian cricket that I have seen. Anyways, I agree that Ganguly was India's best captain. I still remember watching the match fixing saga unfold in the media and though Indian cricket will never be the same. Ganguly turned that all around. The Test series win against Australia and the Natwest trophy finals are still etched in my mind. He built a team which would become world number 1 test side in the future. Zaheer Khan, Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh et all were backed to the hilt by Sourav and they all went on to achieve great things for India.

 

[Tusker]

Only 2-3 posters here have witnessed IK’s captaincy and there opinions matter much more than people who are biased or are basing their opinions of reading stories and myths online..
[MENTION=79064]MMHS[/MENTION] [MENTION=132062]Harsh Thakor[/MENTION] [MENTION=134300]Tusker[/MENTION] [MENTION=142162]Napa[/MENTION] [MENTION=7774]Robert[/MENTION]

Can you guys give your opinion and comparisons good and bad of both the captains?

Cant compare Imran with any other captains from India for the simple reason that Imran was Captain plus Chairman of Selectors. He had too much authority. That does not happen in India's organized mgmt structure. But Imran was a much better leader than Saurav in my opinion. Saurav was doing well till John Wright was with him but that one stupid decision to invite Greg Chappell completely ruined everything he had achieved and set Indian cricket back by a few yrs.

On the other hand MSD is a far better and shrewder captain than Imran and achieved far more with absolutely ordinary bowlers. That takes skill, patience , leadership and an absolutely top notch ability to read game situation and get the best out of your bowlers. You can see that in action live how he gives instructions to our clueless bowlers on what to bowl next.

 

[iniqbal223]

MSD had achieved a lot in his tenure, just like what Ponting did for Australia.
Both inherited their greatest teams, and cricket infrastructure. And that is the reason, they were there for too long.

I haven't saw IK's captaincy much, but given his personality, and his education, it was expected he would garner the respect from his peers, and young players he inducted in the team. On the other hand, Ganguly, had to first clean up the rubbish from Indian cricket[by standing firm against the selectors for not including TTF's], gave chances to U-19 players. His shrewdness, can be stated by the fact, that he knew, the standard of bowling in Indian cricket, so he shifted most of the work load on batting and fielding.
It is during this era, Indian fielding side became from all-rubbish to one of the top 3. Also, he changed the mindset of the team completely. No one have ever believed , India could chase 324 vs England , at Lords, that too when they have lost Sachin , were 150-5, and had 2 youngsters(Yuvi, Kaif) who had hardly played any substantial cricket.

THIS POST IS NOT ABOUT DISCUSSING HIS BATTING, OR HIS STRUGGLES AGAINST BOUNCERS.

 

[Bubby]

You miss the point out of your love for Ganguly. A great captain or a great leader is someone who is fearless. Imran had no fear of anything on the filed of play, Ganguly was like a scared little boy. He was captain of India's greatest ever batting line up, so he won a few matches.

a player can be fearless but that doesn't mean he is a good captain I agree imran is a good captain ,but the true test of a great captain or a great leader is how he takes the team in worst phase, what imran did in wc1992 was commendable, but what ganguly did to the team which was marred by the worst time of its cricket when it was caught in match fixing is something remarkable, I can think of two captains who did something like that although entirely different scenarios one Clive Lloyd who took windies to a new height after the disaster and disgrace they face down under in 79-80 and the other Allan border who turned around the whole Australian culture and turned it into a powerful system, u said ganguly was scared like a little boy, while actually he was the first captain of the new era who taught the players to fight it out and guts it out, who rattled the mighty Aussie's so much so that Steve Waugh one of the toughest guys on field called it the final frontier, not to forget his comeback into Indian cricket and how he was able to bounce back after the whole chappell saga when he was dropped was commendable, the good leaders channelize the unpredictable, the great ones turn the whole culture.

 

[iiqbal]

For me imran khan have its own class , Comparing imran with rest of world captains is just like comparing kohli with umar akmal.

First i used to hate these kinds of thread that there is no comparison and ppl. are compring. but when i saw kohli vs umar akmal , kohli v Ahmed Shahzad thread. I am ok with it.

Imran win ratio can be less , But imran change whole culture of pakistan cricket and even world crickets

 

[ManFan]

IK and it ain't even close.
A more appropriate comparison would have been between IK and Dhoni. The latter outshines Ganguly in every facet of captaincy except individual overseas performance.

 

[Robert]

Two culture-changers. I don’t remember Ganguly’s captaincy much but as I recall he was aggressive.

Imran was not a particularly good tactical captain but he brought discipline to a previously shambolic side. He removed flashy players who went AWOL when the pressure was on, replacing them with guys with less ability but who could scrap. His presence on the field calmed his young players, stopping their aggression boiling over. And of course it helped him to have one of the great fast bowlers of all time in himself. He was the first Pakistan captain to win in England and India, and the WC win crowned his career.

 

[Bilal7]

Ganguly is India's greatest ever captain but even he is an inferior captain to the legendary Imran Khan. While Ganguly was eventually evicted from his post, Imran retired after helping Pakistan win the World Cup. That is probably the biggest difference between the two. They have plenty of similarities as well, in how they both turned their respective teams into fighters and demanded complete respect and loyalty from their subordinates.

Let's see, 11363 runs @ 41.02, with 22 centuries. Let's see any batsman from Pakistan with a more impressive ODI record than that?

Anwar, Inzi, Abbas, Yousuf and Miandad were all better batsmen than Ganguly.

 

[Bilal7]

Cant compare Imran with any other captains from India for the simple reason that Imran was Captain plus Chairman of Selectors. He had too much authority. That does not happen in India's organized mgmt structure. But Imran was a much better leader than Saurav in my opinion. Saurav was doing well till John Wright was with him but that one stupid decision to invite Greg Chappell completely ruined everything he had achieved and set Indian cricket back by a few yrs.

On the other hand MSD is a far better and shrewder captain than Imran and achieved far more with absolutely ordinary bowlers. That takes skill, patience , leadership and an absolutely top notch ability to read game situation and get the best out of your bowlers. You can see that in action live how he gives instructions to our clueless bowlers on what to bowl next.

Never in his wildest dreams could Imran ever dream about being whitewashed in two consecutive series and losing the support of his entire country. Imran > Ganguly > Dhoni.

 

[Buffet]

Never in his wildest dreams could Imran ever dream about being whitewashed in two consecutive series .

How many teams were whitewashed in Pakistan under IK?

 

[Hitman]

Ganguly is India's greatest ever captain but even he is an inferior captain to the legendary Imran Khan. While Ganguly was eventually evicted from his post, Imran retired after helping Pakistan win the World Cup. That is probably the biggest difference between the two. They have plenty of similarities as well, in how they both turned their respective teams into fighters and demanded complete respect and loyalty from their subordinates.



Anwar, Inzi, Abbas, Yousuf and Miandad were all better batsmen than Ganguly.

In test cricket? Yes, they were. As for ODI cricket, the numbers are there for everyone to see.

 

[Bilal7]

How many teams were whitewashed in Pakistan under IK?

Since when did this become important to the credentials of a great captain? Dhoni whitewashing teams at home, that were hopeless against spin is hardly cause for celebration.

If that is so important, then no one beats Misbah in that regard. No team could compete with him in the UAE, whereas Dhoni suffered a pretty humiliating defeat at home by England.

Dhoni was a fantastic ODI skipper but an ordinary one in tests. Nowhere close to Imran and not even the best from his own country.

In test cricket? Yes, they were. As for ODI cricket, the numbers are there for everyone to see.

Yes, and Ganguly's aren't really that impressive. All those players are better ODI batsmen.

 

[Hitman]

Since when did this become important to the credentials of a great captain? Dhoni whitewashing teams at home, that were hopeless against spin is hardly cause for celebration.

If that is so important, then no one beats Misbah in that regard. No team could compete with him in the UAE, whereas Dhoni suffered a pretty humiliating defeat at home by England.

Dhoni was a fantastic ODI skipper but an ordinary one in tests. Nowhere close to Imran and not even the best from his own country.



Yes, and Ganguly's aren't really that impressive. All those players are better ODI batsmen.

And yet neither of them match up to Ganguly's numbers, isn't it?

 

[Buffet]

Since when did this become important to the credentials of a great captain?

If you are making it a credential for not getting whitewashed away then flip side is whitewashing others at home. Won't you agree to keep the argument consistent?

Neither avoiding whitewash in old era made anyone a great captain nor whitewashing any team at home makes a great captain in current era.

Avoiding whitewash away or whitewashing teams at home , both are simply a function of how tests were played in old era and current era.

As far as between Dhoni and IK is concerned, I will take IK even though I have not seen enough of him. Simple reason is that I saw enough of Dhoni in Test to not choose him over IK.

 

[Buffet]

Just to high light difference in era which made results possible,

IK has a grand total of 3 wins as captain outside of Asia and I recall having 5 wins outside of home. That's very ordinary numbers if you are not accounting for era, but those numbers were by product of era. So few wins were due to era , but then so few losses were also due to era. They go hand in hand. He did very well as captain when you take account of everything.

I have seen some Indian supporters using number of wins for Dhoni as an argument, but that's mainly due to era. His losses being high is also due to era. They do hand in hand. Number of draws will be less.

 

[Bubby]

Ganguly is India's greatest ever captain but even he is an inferior captain to the legendary Imran Khan. While Ganguly was eventually evicted from his post, Imran retired after helping Pakistan win the World Cup. That is probably the biggest difference between the two. They have plenty of similarities as well, in how they both turned their respective teams into fighters and demanded complete respect and loyalty from their subordinates.



Anwar, Inzi, Abbas, Yousuf and Miandad were all better batsmen than Ganguly.

Ganguly was evicted bcoz of not just his spat with chappell but also his dip in form, also when imran won the World Cup their were no clear favorites in Odis as windies were declining, Aussie's were still not the strong side and other sides were just catching up, but the side ganguly faced in the final was arguably one of the most powerful juggernaut of all time, only windies 79-80 would match that side, ganguly the captain was a better tactician, it was him who promoted sehwag to open and promoted laxman to no 3 during that famous 281 innings also ganguly the batsman especially in Odis was match winner who was one of the greatest opener remember him charging the saffers during 2002 odi series.

 

[Bubby]

Like I said the greatest captains are the one who guides Teams through their toughest phases, like ganguly did during fixing saga, like border did, like Clive Lloyd did and lay foundation of the future to me these 3 along with ranatunga are the greatest captains of all time, imran was a great captain, but sometimes it's not just about trophies ,anybody can captain champions of anybody can captain during good times its the one who conquer the tough times and turn nobodies into champion players and change whole culture, what imran did was brought discipline, which when he went was gone, what ganguly did was brought a culture, which is still there.

 

[Tusker]

Never in his wildest dreams could Imran ever dream about being whitewashed in two consecutive series and losing the support of his entire country. Imran > Ganguly > Dhoni.

Never in his Wildest dreams would MSD ever worry about losing a Test Match to a minnow like SL.

And yes Imrans team would get whitewashed if they had pathetic bowlers. Credit here to MSD for winning quite a bit despite this huge handicap. Imran was spoilt for choices yet couldnt win as many Tests as MSD.

 

[jnaveen1980]

I have seen both these guys. IK is better. Dhoni was a better leader than Ganguly. Ganguly often acted like a spoilt brat just for the sake of it. Once his form started dipping he was becoming selfish. In the internet era only one person had a dedicated hate site and had huge following. That was Ganguly. Ihateganguly.com website was so popular which later onto become a full fledged cricket forum named cricketwatchdogs. He had spat with Dravid, Srinath, Kumble. He was at odds with even Sachin. He lost almost all the finals. His idea of using Yuvraj singh as opener in Tests, Kaif as a special test bat resulted in epic failure. Having said that he was a fighter. He didn't mind confronting them to get the best out of them. He also didn't mind losing players. India lost Kumble for 2001 series. lost Zak for Australia series. He never let down the intensity. But his good part of captaincy was for a short period where as IKs tenure lasted longer. In 1992 world cup until Inzmama's innings happened IK was under hot seat. Few individual players stepped up big time. Precisely INzmam twice, Akram once in the final. His speech about cancer hospital didn't go well with the rest of the players after the win. Overall he built a great unit. He spotted good talented players. He was not exactly doing well as a player. But he was good in handling the hot heads in the dressing room. On the contrary Ganguly had some of the most decent folks ever to have played cricket in the dressing room. Sachin, Laxman, Dravid, Kumble All 4 of them could have revolted against him. They didn't.But if IK has failed in 1992 world cup his legacy would have been damaged somewhat. He owes a big thanks to Inzi for the miraculous innings.