5 vice-captains who could have made good captains
After Sunrisers Hyderabad’s IPL triumph, questions are hanging in the air whether its talismanic skipper David Warner will ever get to lead the national side. Currently, the vice-captain of the side, Warner has found support in his ODI opening partner Aaron Finch, who said the left-hander will make a brilliant captain if given the chance. But whether Cricket Australia pays heed to his IPL heroics and Finch’s word, only time will tell.
However, Warner’s captaincy future looks bleak especially in the presence of the baby-faced Steven Smith who hasn’t put a foot wrong in his last two years of international cricket. Also, the middle order batsman is two years younger to Warner. In such a scenario, apart from a few games here and there, Warner’s dreams of leading the Australian side may just remain unfulfilled.
Here are some other perennial vice captains of the game, who, if given the chance to lead the team could well have lifted their teams to amazing heights. But some didn’t have the inclination for the coveted job, while some spent their cricket careers in the shadow of more charismatic figures.
1. Shane Warne
The leg spinner had everything one could ask for. Apart from the god gifted wizardry with the ball, Shane Keith Warne finished with 708 wickets, 195 of them coming in Ashes and an ODI World Cup to his name. What more, he even went on to add the glittering Indian Premier League trophy to his kitty. But one thing that eluded Warne throughout his 145 Tests long career was the captaincy of the Australian team.
Given his magnet like pull towards controversies, Cricket Australia trusted more sensible and controversy free cricketers for the job. Plus, Warne didn’t help his cause by maintaining acrimonious relations with both his coach John Buchanan and Steve Waugh. Ian Chappell had this to write on his leadership abilities after he won the Indian Premier League for Rajasthan Royals:
“Leadership was a big part of Warne's success as a captain. He made players feel wanted and they in turn produced every effort to give more for the team. Warne believed the time he spent with players after hours reaped great rewards on the field. He also gave players something they crave: honesty.”