'A captain is as good as his team': Madan Lal on Tendulkar's reign as the Indian skipper
Former Indian seam bowler Madan Lal mentioned that Sachin Tendulkar could not become a highly successful captain because he did not have a great team at his disposal. Madan Lal, who was the coach during Sachin Tendulkar's reign as captain, also added that the latter was a good captain despite his poor record.
Madan Lal spoke extensively about his journey as a player, coach and selector for the Indian cricket team in an exclusive chat with Indranil Basu on Sportskeeda Live.
On being asked how he would rate Sachin Tendulkar as a captain, Madan Lal spoke highly of the former. But he also mentioned that the batting great could not extract the best out of the Indian team.
"I won't agree with you that he was not a great captain. But he was so involved in his own performance, he found it difficult to take care of the team. Because as a captain you not only need to take care of your performance, but also get the best performance from the other 10 players. It is critical how you manage them."
He also highlighted that Sachin Tendulkar was unfortunate as the Indian team at that time was not the best of outfits -
"I don't believe that he was not a good captain. But at times, the captain is as good as his team. Captain can only give directions. When you perform well and give confidence to the captain, he also gives you chances without any hesitation. He gets involved with you in discussions and makes plans regarding the game."
Madan Lal reiterated that Sachin Tendulkar was a good captain and highlighted his commendable qualities as a skipper.
"Sachin had a very good quality of reading the game and telling the players where they were going wrong or how to bowl. He was superb in all these things. But it happens sometimes, that you give so much attention to your game that your difficulties compound. It was not that he was not a good captain."
Sachin Tendulkar's captaincy record
Sachin Tendulkar captained India in 25 Test matches between 1996 and 2000. The Indian team managed to win only 4 of these matches. While they lost 9 Test matches, 12 ended in a stalemate.
The Mumbaikar does not have a great record as a captain in ODIs as well. The Indian team won only 23 of the 73 ODIs under Sachin Tendulkar's captaincy. With one match ending in a tie and six matches ending without a result, it translated to a win percentage of approximately 35%.