5 players with most runs as Indian captain in Test cricket
Test cricket can be really demanding for any player, but, if you are an Indian captain, then you are always facing a pressure cooker situation due to the expectations of a billion people. On top of that, a captain has to do justice to his primary job in the team, which is either bowling or batting.
Striking a balance between these two can be a daunting task and it seldom happens. While Sourav Ganguly was an exceptional captain, the same cannot be said about his Test batting. It's not easy to take the pressure both as a captain and as a batsman.
On that note, let's take a look at 5 players with most runs as Indian captain in Test cricket to understand how well they reacted to pressure cooker situations:
#5 Sourav Ganguly, 2561 runs
The man who laid the foundation of the modern day aggressive Indian cricketer, Sourav Ganguly instilled fearlessness into the Indian cricket. He was famous for identifying raw talent and providing them with the right amount of opportunities to display their talent in front of the cricketing world.
During Ganguly's tenure, India played particularly well outside India. Though his batting suffered due to captaincy pressure, India achieved great heights as a team during his captaincy stint.
Ganguly captained India in 49 Test matches, during which he scored 2561 runs at an average of 37.66, which included five centuries and 13 fifties.
#4 Mohd. Azharuddin, 2856 runs
Azhar was an enigma, who had the ability to demolish best of the bowlers on one day, but, on another day he could look an ordinary batsman. His batting was a treat to the eyes- those flicks from outside off stump, cover drives with a completely closed grip and fierce square cuts were very soothing to the eyes.
Azhar captained India for a long time and his team achieved great success in India, but, their overseas record was dismal. Azhar the captain had moderate success as a batsman, he scored 2856 runs from 46 Test matches as an Indian captain at an average of 43.94 with nine centuries and nine fifties.