5 all-rounders who are currently captaining their national cricket teams
On Monday (August 7), Australia named Mitchell Marsh as their captain for the upcoming T20I series against the South African cricket team. Marsh has been one of the best all-rounders for Australia across all formats.
The all-rounder played a vital role in Australia's maiden T20 World Cup triumph in the year 2021. He has been entrusted with the responsibility of captaining his national team now. Marsh is not the only all-rounder who is the captain of his national cricket team at the moment.
In this listicle, we will look at five other all-rounders who are captains of their respective nations.
#1 Hardik Pandya, India
All-rounder Hardik Pandya made his captaincy debut at the international level after leading the Gujarat Titans to the IPL trophy in 2022. He captained India for the first time in a series against Ireland. India won that series 2-0.
After that series, the all-rounder has regularly captained the T20I side in the absence of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Pandya has also become India's vice-captain in ODIs, and he led the Men in Blue to a win against Australia earlier this year.
#2 Ben Stokes, England
Ben Stokes became England's Test captain last year. The all-rounder took over the reins of the team from Joe Root. Stokes joined hands with new coach Brendon McCullum and brought about a revolution in England's Test cricket.
The 'Bazball' approach of Stokes and McCullum has helped England win many Test matches. England defeated South Africa, New Zealand, and Pakistan in Test series last year, while they managed to draw the home series against India and Australia.
#3 Shakib Al Hasan, Bangladesh
Veteran all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has captained Bangladesh in T20Is and Test matches this year. Litton Das and Tamim Iqbal have captained the Bangladesh team in the ODI format.
With Tamim Iqbal resigning as the ODI captain, reports have emerged claiming that Shakib could lead the Bangladesh team in the upcoming Asia Cup tournament as well.
#4 Dasun Shanaka, Sri Lanka
Batting all-rounder Dasun Shanaka has been Sri Lanka's captain in ODIs and T20Is for quite some time now. Under his captaincy, Sri Lanka won the Asia Cup last year in the United Arab Emirates.
Earlier this year, Sri Lanka won the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifiers in Zimbabwe while playing under Shanaka's leadership. The all-rounder will lead his nation in the upcoming ICC ODI World Cup 2023 in India later this year.
#5 Aiden Markram, South Africa
Aiden Markram is the T20I captain of the South African cricket team. He was named the new skipper earlier this year in March. Markram is a hard-hitting batter and a decent spin bowler. He is currently ranked eighth in the ICC T20I Rankings for all-rounders.
Apart from South Africa, Markram also captains Sunrisers Eastern Cape in SA20 and Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL. Interestingly, Sunrisers Eastern Cape won the SA20 championship in February, but later in the year, the Sunrisers Hyderabad finished last in the IPL 2023 points table while playing under Markram's captaincy.