Every cricketer dreams of representing their country in a Test match cricket. Once they are an established member of the Test team, the next ambition is to lead the nation in the Test matches. In India, a total of 33 cricketers have captained the Indian team in Test cricket. MS Dhoni holds the Indian record for most Test matches as captain (60 Tests), followed by Virat Kohli in 55 Tests.
At the other end, there are players who have served Indian cricket for a long time but never got an opportunity to lead the country in Tests. Let us look at 5 Indian cricketers who have played the most Test matches without captaining the team.
#5 Syed Kirmani 88 Test Matches
The Karnataka wicket-keeper batsman represented India in 88 Test matches. He scored 2759 runs @ an average of 27.04 including 2 centuries and 12 fifties. He also accounted for 198 dismissals comprising of 160 catches and 38 stumpings.
During the Test career spanning from 1976 to 1986 he played under 4 captains with Sunil Gavaskar (47 Tests), Bishan Singh Bedi (22 Tests), Kapil Dev (17 Tests) and GR Viswanath(2 Tests). Apart from these 88 matches, Syed Kirmani also represented in 49 ODIs, where he scored 373 runs and accounted for 36 dismissals (27 catches+ 9 stumpings). He was member of Indian team which won the 1983 ODI World cup.
#4 Zaheer Khan 92 Test matches
The Baroda pace bowler represented India in 92 Test matches. He took 311 wickets in these Test matches @an average of 32.94. He managed a 5-wickthaul on 11 occasions, with a best spell of 7/87 against Bangladesh at Dhaka in January 2010.
During his 14 year Test career, he played under 5 captains with Saurav Ganguly (36 Tests), MS Dhoni (31 Tests), Rahul Dravid (14Tests) Anil Kumble (8 Tests), and Virender Sehwag (3 Tests).
He also represented India in 200 ODIs and 17 T20Is, bagging 282 and 17 wickets respectively in these two formats. He was also part of Indian team which won 2011 ODI World Cup.
#3 Ishant Sharma 97 Test matches
The Delhi pacer has worn the Indian white jersey in Test matches on 97 occasion. He dismissed 297 batsmen in these Test matches @ an average of 32.39, including 11 5-wicket hauls with best spell of 7/74 coming against England at Lord’s in July 2014.
An active member of the Indian Test team for 14 years, he played under 6 captains with MS Dhoni (47 Tests), Virat Kohli (36 Tests), Anil Kumble (9 Tests), Virender Sehwag (3 Tests), Rahul Dravid (1test) and Ajinkya Rahane (1Tests).
He has also played 80 ODIs and 14 T20Is for India in which he took 115 and 8 wickets respectively. Apart from his spell of 7/74 at Lord’s that led to a memorable victory, he is also most remembered for tormenting Ricky Ponting in the Perth Test of 2008 before dismissing him.
#2 Harbhajan Singh 103 Test matches
The Punjab off-spinner represented India in 103 Tests. He took 417 wickets @ an average of 32.46. He also managed to take a5-wicket haul on 25 occasions with a best effort of 8/84 against Australia at Chennai in March 2001. He has also scored 2224 runs in Test cricket, with 2 centuries.
He played Test cricket for India from 1998 to 2015. He played under 8 Indian captains with most under Saurav Ganguly (37 Tests), then MS Dhoni (31 Tests), Anil Kumble (12 Tests0, Rahul Dravid (11 Tests), Mohd Azharuddin (6 Tests) and two matches each under Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Virat Kohli.
He also represented India in 236 ODIs and 28 T20Is, bagging 269 and 25 wickets respectively. He was also part of Indian team which won the 2011 ODI World cup, and 2007 T20 World Cup. Bit it was his series-clinching 32 wickets including a hat-trick in the 2001 Test series against Australia that brought him into limelight.
#1 VVS Laxman 134 Test matches
He holds the Indian record of having played the most Test matches without captaining the country. He has played the third most Test matches after Sachin Tendulkar (200) and Rahul Dravid (164). He amassed 8781 runs in these matches @an average of 45.97 with the memorable 281-run knock against Australia as his highest. He has scored 17 centuries and 56 fifties.
He represented India for 15 years in Tests and played under 7 captains with most under Saurav Ganguly (43 Tests), and then MS Dhoni (34 Tests), Rahul Dravid (21 Tests), Anil Kumble (14 Tests), Sachin Tendulkar (12 Tests), Mohd Azharuddin (6 Tests) and Virender Sehwag (4 Tests).
He also represented India in 86 ODIs, scoring 2338 runs @ an average of 30.76, including6 centuries and 10 fifties. He is remembered for his innumerable classy innings in Test cricket, and none more so than the epic 281 run-knock and 376 run partnership with Rahul Dravid against Australia that engineered a dramatic comeback for India after having been asked to follow-on.
This only proves that the strength and depth of Indian cricket has improved so much that many talented players such as mentioned above, never got the chance to lead the Indian team. In any other country players who represented their country for so many Test matches would have definitely got the chance to captain their team.
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Anil Malik
Mumbai, India
13th December 2024