TEAM OF LEADERS

Since India started to play cricket, potential leaders led the country on the field. Ajit Wadekar, MAK Pataudi, Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Mohd. Azharuddin, Sourav Ganguly & of course, MS Dhoni. These are the most successful captains of Indian cricket team. Two of them are World Cup winning. One took charge of the India team when Indian cricket got caught in biggest fixing scandal in 2000 & built a legacy of a team with a mix of youth & experience loaded with hunger & aggression, something which is still being carried on & will be in future. No doubt Kapil Dev created India as a world class team when his devils stunned the mighty West Indies in ’83 World Cup. Gavaskar was an aggressive leader under whom India went undefeated in ’85 world championship in Australia. Azharuddin built a team to take on any situation. But the ultimate contributor was Sourav Ganguly who taught the team how to win on foreign soil. He created a character within the team. Under Dhoni, India, now tagged as World champs, dominating the cricket world.

But who is next after Dhoni? Luckily answer is available. India is a side, where numerous leaders are available. We all know how Virat Kohli led the team in Zimbabwe, where yes, result is predictable, but one has to admire the way he led the side. Rohit Sharma led Mumbai Indians to be crowned this year’s IPL champs. Although his composure is yet to be tested in Int’l cricket, but on the grounds of a Y generation team, he left the selectors with an alternative of Virat Kohli. Raina captained India in few occasions but was not so impressive in his last outings in Zimbabwe. Gambhir has a Ganguly like aggression which is evident in his all-win record at the helm.

It’s just that one has to continue the legacy of MS Dhoni in future & we don’t have to scratch our heads to choose the next captain. Competition is there within the team - to be the member of the squad & to be the next leader of Team India.