5 players who captained and coached their national cricket team ft. Daren Sammy, Gautam Gambhir
Becoming the captain of the national cricket team is the dream of many individuals. In many cricketing nations, the skipper of the national side is considered one of the most important individuals in the team.
While a player can captain his national team only as long as he is playing, he can continue to be associated with the side as a coach after retirement. However, to become the coach, he has to pass the tests set by his respective cricket board.
Few in history have been able to captain and coach their national cricket team. Here's a list of five such players.
5 players who captained and coached their national cricket team
#1 Daren Sammy - West Indies
The latest name to feature on this list is Daren Sammy. The former West Indies captain recently became the all-format coach of the Men in Marron. Cricket West Indies recently announced on social media that Sammy, who has been in charge of the limited-overs sides since May 2023, will take over as the head coach in all formats in April 2025.
For the record, Sammy led West Indies to eight Test wins, 18 ODI victories, and two T20 World Cup titles as captain. It will be interesting to see if he can help the team achieve similar success as a coach.
#2 Gautam Gambhir, India
Current India head coach Gautam Gambhir was never the full-time captain of the Men in Blue. However, he was the deputy skipper for a while. When regular captain MS Dhoni was not available, Gambhir would lead the team.
Gambhir's biggest achievement as India's captain was leading the team to a 5-0 ODI series win against New Zealand on home soil in 2010. As a coach, Gambhir recently guided India to a historic Test win against Australia in Perth.
#3 Rahul Dravid, India
Another Indian name to feature on the list is Rahul Dravid. He was India's captain in the ICC ODI World Cup 2007 hosted by West Indies.
While India exited in the group stage of the mega event in 2007, 17 years later (2024), Dravid guided the team to a memorable T20 World Cup triumph on Caribbean soil as a head coach. India also made it to the 2023 World Cup final under Dravid's coaching.
#4 Anil Kumble, India
Former India leg-spinner Anil Kumble captained India in only one ODI, but he was the Test captain for a decent amount of time. Under his captaincy, India recorded three wins, six defeats, and five draws in Test cricket.
Talking about Kumble's tenure as head coach, he was the Indian team's head coach from June 2016 to June 2017. However, due to an 'untenable' partnership with then-captain Virat Kohli, Kumble decided to resign.
#5 Sanath Jayasuriya, Sri Lanka
Current Sri Lanka coach Sanath Jayasuriya has played a major role in the island nation's stark improvement in 2024. Under Jayasuriya's guidance, the team recorded an ODI series win against India on home turf.
Jayasuriya troubled India a lot during his playing days as well. In fact, he captained Sri Lanka to a 2-1 Test series win against India in 2001. Overall, Jayasuriya won 18 Test matches as Sri Lanka's captain.