4 reasons why Rahul Dravid is India's most underrated captain

The development of Dhoni

Dhoni flourished under Dravid's leadership

Post the 2003 World Cup, there was some talk of how India needed to relieve Dravid from the wicketkeeping duties in order to continue getting the best out of him with the bat.

The selectors tried a few options before finally zeroing on a 23-year-old tyro from Jharkhand named Mahendra Singh Dhoni in late 2004. He started off with a bang by making 148 against Pakistan at Vizag in April 2005, but six months on under Dravid began to show more consistency, in making big scores and helping the team win.

In Jaipur that year against Sri Lanka, Dravid pushed Dhoni to Number 3 while chasing a 300+ score and he responded by making an unbeaten 183 to help India win. A few months later, Dhoni went to Pakistan and along with the lower-order guided India to safety in the Faisalabad Test by making his maiden Test hundred. On the same tour, he aided Yuvraj Singh in finishing off two matches in the ODI series against Pakistan.

Similar performances from his blade followed in the leadup to the World Cup and had it not been for Dravid, perhaps Dhoni would never have gone on to become the limited-overs great that he is today.