5 Test batsmen who thrived in the role of captain

Being the captain of an international cricket team is by no means an easy job and can tend to take a toll on the individual performing the task. The history of cricket has many examples of cricketers who have suffered a dip in their personal form as a result of having the added responsibility of captaincy on their shoulders.However, there have also been some who have taken their individual game a few notches higher after their ascendancy to the skipper’s role. Among these, there are batsmen who have better records as captain opposed to what they had when they were not leading the team.Let’s take a look at 5 great Test batsmen who thrived as skipper of their respective teams.

#5 Mahela Jayawardene (Sri Lanka)

Mahela Jayawardene did quite brilliantly with the bat as skipper

	MAT	RUNS	AVE	100s
As Captain	38	3665	59.11	14
As Player	111	8149	46.56	20

There is no doubt about the fact that Mahela Jayawardene is one of the best batsmen to have emerged from Sri Lanka. However, the legendary batsman performed even better when he had the captaincy shoes on.

When he played in the Sri Lankan team as just another member, Jayawardene averaged 46.56 in 111 matches. As captain of Sri Lanka, though, his average used to be an incredibly high 59.11 and he managed to score 14 tons in just 38 games.

Mahela Jayawardene may have retired from Tests a couple of years ago, but he has left an impression on the cricketing world which may be hard to erase.