A cricketer may repeatedly be producing sensational performances as a player, but the urge to showcase his leadership skills will always be present. However, this is one post that only a single player can hold. Hence, even if you have it in you to be a good leader, the platform may never arrive. Some popular cricketers have experienced in the game’s history so far. In this article, we discuss five potential captains who never got an opportunity to lead a team in International Cricket.
1) Michael Bevan (Australia)
Australia has had 46 Test captains, 25 ODI captains and 12 T20I captains so far, and yet, Michael Bevan did not get a single game to lead the country. The sixth-highest ODI run-getter for his nation, Bevan made 6912 runs at an average of 53.58. He batted mostly in the lower middle-order, and most of his contributions included last-over chases or even last-ball heroics.
Called once as ‘The Finisher’, Bevan had an eye for game situation. This helped him finish games with ease. He also believed in turning singles into twos, and this involved an accurate analysis of field placements. Winner of the 1999 and 2003 World Cup for Australia, at his peak, Shane Warne was preferred as the ODI captain. Hence, he never got a chance to lead Australia.
2) VVS Laxman (India)
A captain of India A, a leader in many Ranji Trophy games and the first captain of Deccan Chargers in IPL, VVS Laxman did not get a chance to captain India. He is the only one of India’s Fab 4 (Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman) that did not captain Team India. This is despite him playing more than 100 Tests.
More often than not, it was VVS who came under pressure in the batting order. He had to pull India out of a hole, and a few scenarios included batting with the tail-enders. He did it wonderfully and exuded calmness on the cricket field. Barring one occasion where he was the vice-captain of the team touring South Africa, VVS never came close to the coveted position.
3) James Anderson (England)
Barring Bob Willis and Stuart Broad, very few English seamers have been captains. Despite him being the country’s most-capped Test player, James Anderson is one of the popular players who never got an opportunity to lead a team in International Cricket. Not to mention, he is the most successful pacer in Test cricket history.
In 2017, when Alastair Cook retired, there were calls for having Anderson as the team’s Test captain. However, Joe Root took over the reins. Although the pacer has been a vice-captain for many games, he is yet to get that chance to walk out to the toss.
4) Glenn McGrath (Australia)
With 949 international wickets to his name, Glenn McGrath was the best fast bowler of his time. He was part of the dominant Aussie era when they won a hat-trick of World Cups. Much of this era was underlined by the captaincy of Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting.
Yes, a fast bowler may be the last person in a team sheet to be considered for a captain’s role, but it was different in McGrath’s case. Unlike his colleagues, he exuded calmness and was balanced. This could have offered a different dimension to the position of an Australian cricket captain. Unfortunately, the ‘Pigeon’ ended his career by joining the list of potential captains who never got an opportunity to lead a team in International Cricket.
5) Lance Klusener (South Africa)
Lance Klusener performed well under pressure and won many games for his country. In 171 ODI games, he scored 3576 runs and picked 192 wickets while in 49 Tests, he made 1906 runs and scalped 80 wickets. A strong character off the field, Klusener’s best performances have come under immense stress.
At his time, it was Shaun Pollock and Hansie Cronje who operated as the captain. Gary Kirsten filled in for a few games. Hence, despite having the skills to lead a team, Klusener has not got the chance to do that. The current coach of Afghanistan, Klusener is doing a decent job with training cricketers now.
