Good players = Good leaders? Not always!

In any group or team, generally a leader is chosen either on him having much better talent than others or on a voting basis between other team members and administrators. However, sport has proven otherwise that talent and popularity need not make good quality leaders.

It is more about having the charisma and confidence to inspire others to perform to their best and backing them in their tough times. As well as forming the right strategies as per the strengths of the team and the situation in front of them.

Take the example of Indian cricket. Sachin Tendulkar was destined to be the captain of the team at some point, being the most reliable player. However, he had two brief captaincy stints in the late 90s and both turned out to be a major disaster. Rifts were galore in the team and match fixing allegations took a leap as India lost in the West Indies (1997) and Australia (1999) badly but more embarrassingly at home, to South Africa in February 2000.

Instead of being overjoyed, Tendulkar was burdened by leadership as he was the lone warrior who had to do everything himself for India to win. Plus, many felt that he judged others by his own standards and expectations rather than respecting them for their abilities. No wonder that Sourav Ganguly was the right man and the one credited to change the fortunes of the team as he unexpectedly succeeded Tendulkar successfully!

Dada may not have as good a batting record as captain in comparison to not being captain, but he admirably gave the seniors a place of their own and empowered youngsters to be match winners. Despite his arrogance and aggression, his optimism and intuition made India a team capable of winning against any team in any conditions and squeaky clean-cum-fair as well.

Some players just like to focus more on the skill they are the best at, rather than focusing on others performances. David Beckham was the captain of England’s national football team from 2000-2006 and 2008-2009, having two stints like Tendulkar.

His only notable successes was England qualifying for the 2002 and 2010 World Cups but their performances otherwise, were extremely disappointing despite having the most dangerous team on paper!
Individually, Beckham was performing exceptionally well but his ego soured his relations with ex-team manager, Sven-Goran Eriksson and his injuries could not let him be a part of the team consistently in 2009.

Rare are those in sport who enjoy leadership while performing well themselves. Sir Don Bradman, Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting have done that for Australia while Steven Gerrard and John Terry have done it for Liverpool and Chelsea respectively in club football.