World Cup History: Three most unsuccessful Indian captains in the tournament
In cricket it is often said, "A Captain is as good as his team." Although this saying is true to a large extent, but in a big event like the World Cup, where the pressure on the team is sky high, a strong leader is very much needed in order to bring out the players' best performances.
The individual brilliance of players makes headlines, but in order to win the World Cup, they need to perform as a cohesive unit - and that is what a great leader can ensure.
India, which is a powerhouse of world cricket, is captained by the great Virat Kohli in this edition of the World Cup, which is presently underway in England and Wales. In the previous 11 editions of this mega event, Indian teams have been captained by six great personalities, viz S Venkataraghavan, Kapil Dev, Mohammad Azharuddin, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and MS Dhoni.
The performance of some of these captains were extraordinary, while the others had ordinary records. In this article we look at the 3 most unsuccessful Indian captains in the history of the World Cup.
#3 Mohammad Azharuddin (1992, 1996 and 1999)
Matches: 23, Won: 10, Lost: 12, Tied/No Result: 1
Mohammad Azharuddin captained India in as many as three World Cups, which is a record till date.
However his performance as captain in World Cups has been quite average. Under his captaincy India never won the World Cup. His best performance was, when he took the side to the semifinals in the 1996 edition of the tournament. In the 1992 edition, India crashed out of the group stages, while in the 1999 edition they could advance only till the Super 6.
However under Azhar's captaincy, India had some memorable World Cup victories, specially the 3 consecutive ones, they had, against their arch rivals Pakistan in the 1992, 1996 and 1999 editions.
But overall, his captaincy record was quite ordinary and thus is undoubtedly the third most unsuccessful Indian captain in the history of World Cup.
#2 Rahul Dravid (2007)
Matches: 3, Won: 1, Lost: 2
Rahul Dravid was the captain of the 2007 World Cup team. The tournament was one of the biggest lows in the history of Indian cricket. In this edition of the tournament, India crashed out in the group stages, after losing to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
Although India had some great players in the team, but they were not a cohesive unit, seemingly because of a strife between the senior players and the coach. The lack of team spirit was the main reason behind the shocking result. Dravid's record as captain in World Cup is something which will remain as a black spot, in his glorious career.
#1 Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan (1975 and 1979)
Matches: 6, Won: 1, Lost: 5
S Venkataraghavan, the legendary Indian off-spinner was the captain of the Indian team in their first two World Cup campaigns in 1975 and 1979. In those days, the Indian ODI team was nowhere near the benchmark they had set in Tests.
The players were still not used to the shorter format of the game. As a result, the performance of the Indian team in the first two World Cups was quite disappointing. In both the editions of the tournament, they were knocked out in the group stages, after playing 3 matches only.
Venkataraghavan lost 5 of the 6 World Cup matches, in which he was the captain. His solitary win as captain, came against East Africa in a group match in the 1975 edition. His performance as India's captain, in World Cups, has been the worst till date.
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