5 cricketers who would have been great long-term Test captains

It is often said that the best player in the team will make a good leader. Modern-day greats like Steve Waugh, Ricky Ponting and Virat Kohli, apart from being the best batsman in their respective sides, have also led their team successfully. However, not all cricketers have gotten a chance to lead their respective teams in spite of playing the game for more than a decade.

Here is a look at five cricketers who are considered modern-day greats, but did not get many opportunities to showcase their captaincy skills:

#5 Jacques Kallis

The greatest all-rounder of this generation, Kallis could do no wrong in international cricket. Despite having scored 13,289 runs in Tests at an average of 55.37 to go with 292 Test wickets, the South African all-rounder was never considered a future captain. Kallis dominated world cricket with his all-round skills and played under the captaincy of Hansie Cronje, Shaun Pollock and Graeme Smith.

In an illustrious career of 166 Tests, Kallis captained his national team on only two occasions i.e. against Australia in 2005-2006 and 2008-2009 when the regular skipper Smith was injured.

Kallis, with his all-round cricketing brain, could have been a sharp leader and achieved great heights captaining his team.

#4 Muttiah Muralitharan

Murali never captained Sri Lanka in an international game

Test cricket's most successful bowler, Muttiah Muralitharan never captained his national team in a career which spanned approximately 18 years. Murali holds the record for the most number of Test wickets i.e. 800.

Muralitharan played under Sri Lankan greats like Arjuna Ranatunga, Sanath Jayasuriya, Marvan Atapattu, Mahela Jayawardena and Kumar Sangakkara but never led the side himself.

It would have been interesting to see how Murali would have prospered as a captain if he was given a chance to lead to his team.

#3 Virender Sehwag

Sehwag captained India in only four Tests

Virender Sehwag, who is considered as one of the most dashing openers in modern-day cricket, captained India in just four Tests in a career that spanned 104 Tests. Sehwag probably did not get a chance to lead the Indian team on a regular basis as he played under legends like Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble and MS Dhoni and could only lead the team in the absence of the regular skipper.

Sehwag's aggressive approach would have made him a successful skipper.

#2 Gary Kirsten

Kirsten captained South Africa in a solitary Test against Pakistan in 1997-1998

One of the most successful coaches of this era, Gary Kirsten was not considered a leader by the South Africa team management. Kirsten captained South Africa in just a solitary Test against Pakistan in 1997-1998.

Though he did not captain South Africa again, he coached India in their successful World Cup campaign in 2011 and also took them to the number one spot in the Test rankings. Taking into account his successful coaching skills and ability to lead from the front, Kirsten would have been a successful captain at the international level.

#1 Shane Warne

Warne never captained Australia in Test cricket

Captaincy was one thing which eluded Shame Warne in his Test career. Though he was appointed as the vice-captain of the Australian Test team for a brief period, he could not get a chance to lead his team in a career that consisted of 145 Test matches.

Warne, who is the highest wicket-taker for Australia and the second highest wicket-taker in the history of Test cricket, was never thought to be captaincy material by the selectors partly due to disciplinary issues and the presence of leaders like Allan Border, Mark Taylor, Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting.

Warne would have been an excellent leader, considering his ability to inspire youngsters to scale new heights. This was witnessed in the inaugural season of the Indian Premier League in 2008 when he led a bunch of youngsters to the title.