5 Indian captains of the 21st century and their contributions to Indian cricket

#2 Rahul Dravid

Rahul Dravid

Rahul Dravid was made the skipper in 2005 in the aftermath of the Chappell-Ganguly spat that saw the end of Ganguly’s tenure as a skipper. The Dravid era in Indian cricket started from the year 2005 and ended in 2007.

Indian cricket needed a stabilizer after the Ganguly-Chappell controversy and it found the perfect man in the form of Rahul Dravid. His calm composure and textbook captaincy was an ideal one for the Indian team at that time.

Under Rahul Dravid’s captaincy, India managed to record their first series win in the West Indies after 1971 which they won 1-0. India also registered their first ever Test win on South African soil in Johannesburg in 2006.

The biggest achievements of all these though was the 2007 Test series win on England soil. 2007 was a roller coaster year for the Indian fans. Having bowed out of the 2007 World Cup with a humiliating defeat to Bangladesh, India headed on to England for a 3 match Test series.

India had failed to win a series on English soil for 21 years at that time. Dravid’s bold captaincy saw India registering a series win by a margin of 1-0 seeking consolidation for the early World Cup exit.

Dravid’s tenure as a captain saw India having a composed methodical approach that led India to resounding wins. During his captaincy, the Indian cricket team also managed to break the record for most consecutive victories batting second in ODI cricket through a record 17 match run.

Rahul Dravid shall forever be remembered as a composed captain for taking Indian cricket forward and stabilizing Indian cricket in controversial times.