3 instances when a captain dropped himself from the team
In a cricket team, the captain is the most influential member. Most of the times a team bears the stamp of its leader all over and he is the master of the side on the ground. A captain wins accolades for the good performance of the team and vice versa.
But to be a good leader a captain needs to lead by example, and there have been many instances in the history of cricket where a captain could not do justice to his primary role of either a batsman or a bowler. In such a scenario, it becomes difficult for a captain to merit a place in the side, leave alone captaining it.
There have been few instances when a captain has dropped himself from the playing eleven. Let's take a look at three of those instances.
#1 Misbah-ul-Haq
During an ODI series between Pakistan and Australia in 2014, Misbah was struggling to find form and he scored 0 and 15 during the first two ODIs of the series. In a three-match series, Pakistan was beaten comprehensively by Australia in the first two games.
Misbah-ul-Haq took responsibility for the defeats and also taking into account his poor form, he dropped himself from the team for the third and final ODI of the series. Afridi was made the captain but Pakistan still went on to lose the match.
#2 Dinesh Chandimal
During the T20 World Cup in 2014, captain Dinesh Chandimal dropped himself owing to poor form from the semi-final and final of the marquee event. He sacrificed his place in the team in order to maintain the balance of the team.
Lasith Malinga went on to replace him and Sri Lanka were the eventual champions, vindicating Chandimal's decision to drop himself.
#3 Mike Denesse
During 1974 Ashes, Australia had beaten England comprehensively in the first two Tests and the third Test was drawn. The English captain, Mike Denesse was struggling to find form on the tour. Keeping in mind the situation in which his team was in, Denisee decided to drop himself from the playing eleven in the fourth Test.
Tony Greig replaced him as the captain and England went on to lose the fourth Test. Denesse made a comeback to the playing eleven for the fifth Test. Australia won the 6-match series by a margin of 4-1.