In cricket, a captain is undoubtedly the boss as he is the one who runs the team. He is the one who decides what’s good and what’s bad for the team. It is also expected that he will lead from the front and set examples for his other teammates. But as a family can’t be run by a single person, a cricket team also needs someone other than the skipper to hold the team together. In cricket, such a post exists and that is famously known as the ‘Vice Captain’.
There have been famous captain-vice captain pairs in the history of cricket. A vice-captain complements the captain in so many ways. The recent example has to be the famous pairing of MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli, the current Indian captain and the vice-captain respectively complement each other in many ways. They are characteristically poles apart but they both are the pillars of their side.
The amalgamation of Dhoni’s inimitable coolness and Kohli’s natural aggression have worked wonders for India in the past few years as they have successfully built a side which is a force to reckon with in the shorter formats of the game. They even lead by examples as both are excellent performers as well.
There are other instances in cricket as well when the combo of the skipper and his deputy has been super successful. Even the camaraderie between the two is so important to run a successful team. Let’s have a look at 5 successful Captain- Vice Captain pairs in cricket.
1. Sourav Ganguly-Rahul Dravid
Indian cricket was under the tenebrous cloud of match-fixing when the elegant left-hander Sourav Ganguly took over the charge of the Indian team. He had the arduous job of rejuvenating the demoralized squad and getting them back to winning ways.
Sourav led from the front as he rebuilt the squad and changed Indian cricket forever. It was under his leadership that India managed to win overseas and challenged tougher opponents in their own dens. However, one mustn’t forget the contribution of his deputy Rahul Dravid.
Dravid was exceptional with the bat in the longer format as he scored a plethora of runs outside India to propel India to memorable test wins at Headingley and Adelaide. In the ODI format, Rahul was burdened with the responsibility of keeping wickets for the sake of the team as skipper Ganguly wanted to play an extra batsman.
Their great camaraderie was evident and both had immense respect for each other’s abilities. This was a was a hit jodi for sure. Ganguly’s aggression and Rahul’s patience worked wonders for the Indian cricket team.
2. Alastair Cook- Andrew Strauss
England cricket team prospered under the captaincy of the left-hand opening batsman Andrew Strauss. Strauss was the man who helped England regain the Ashes in 2009 after a 5-0 drubbing in the 2007 Ashes in Australia.
Strauss was instrumental again in leading the Three Lions to the Ashes victory once again in 2011; their first on Australian soil after 24 years. His deputy and his opening partner Alastair Cook complemented him well as the two formed a great partnership. Alastair Cook was brilliant in that series down under as he scored an astonishing 766 runs in just seven innings at an average of 127.66 and also won the man-of-the-series award.
Strauss and Cook were not only a great captain and vice-captain duo but also a successful opening combo. In fact, they became only the fifth pair in test history to have put on 5000 runs as a pair.
3. Mark Taylor-Steve Waugh
Two of the most prolific captains in the history of Australian cricket together laid the foundations of an Australian team which went on to rule the cricketing world. Mark Taylor as the captain built the side which later his deputy took over and made it one of the most successful teams in the history of cricket.
Taylor was responsible for the ascent of Australian cricket after Allan Border and Steve Waugh complemented him well as he became the vice-captain of the side. Waugh and Border both were brilliant performers and they successfully managed the team to take it to greater heights.
4. Graeme Smith- Jacques Kallis
One of the most successful captains in the history of South African cricket, Graeme Smith captained South Africa on a record number of 108 tests. The gritty southpaw can well be held responsible for the revival of the South African test squad.
Smith, however, had help on his side with an able deputy in the form of Jacques Kallis. Kallis was not only an able deputy to the sherriff but also the main pillar in the Southa African batting order. The ex-KKR star is fact is considered arguably one of the best all-rounders the game has ever seen.
Smith along with the classy Kallis built a team which went on to scale greater heights. The duo complemented each other in more ways than one. Along with leadership, their own individual performances helped form the backbone of the squad which later became one of the most successful sides in test history.
5. Mahela Jayawardene- Kumar Sangakkara
These two great friends and compatriots formed one of the most lethal captain-vice captain combos in the history of cricket. Along the way, they re-wrote several pages of history in Sri Lankan cricket, adding another dimension to the popularity of the game in the island. Both were blessed with tremendous talent and brilliant cricketing acumen, which propelled Sri Lanka to unprecedented heights.
Both were a treat to watch with the bat and they formed many a memorable partnership together. Their partnership of 624 against South Africa still stands as the highest partnership in Test match history.
Jayawardene and Sangakkara were both instrumental in leading Sri Lanka to the World Cup finals in 2007 and 2011 only to lose out to Australia and India respectively. They finally reached their Nadir at the 2014 World T20, leading the Lankans to the title.
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