5 Youngest captains in Test cricket

The captain is the most important player in any sport. He gets to make a lot of decisions and has the powers to drive the game. A good captain always instills confidence in the team, puts the team first always and not personal egos.

Becoming the captain of the team is a dream come true for many cricketers. The sport of cricket has seen some wonderful captains throughout the history who led the team successfully and made their mark.

However, some captains were not able to earn the same success but were fortunate enough to captain the team at a very young age. We look at 5 youngest cricketers who captained their team in Test cricket.

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#5 Shakib Al Hasan ( 22 years and 115 days )

Shakib Al Hasan is one of the all-time greats of Bangladesh

Shakib Al Hasan has been the most consistent all-rounder for quite some time and can help any team with his wide range of skills. He has played in 53 Tests so far, after making his debut in 2007 and has scored 3692 runs at an average of 39.70 and picked up 196 wickets.

He was made the captain for the first time in the second Test of the series against West Indies in 2009. Shakib performed both with the bat and the ball, scoring an unbeaten 96 in the second innings and picking up 9 wickets in the match to help Bangladesh achieve a 2-0 series win.

Shakib has captained the team in 11 Tests so far but has not enjoyed a great success. Under his captaincy, the team has lost all the 10 games excluding his first game as a captain.

#4 Graeme Smith ( 22 years and 82 days )

Graeme Smith is the first cricketer to captain in 100 Tests

Graeme Smith is one of the finest gentlemen this sport has ever seen and is also one of the most successful Test captains of all-time. He appeared in 117 Tests and scored 9265 runs at an average of 48.25.

He got the captaincy call very early in Test cricket. Smith was made the captain in the two-Tests home series against Bangladesh in 2003 and led the team to a convincing 2-0 win.

Smith captained the team in 109 Tests and was the first cricketer to captain the team in 100 Tests. Under his captaincy, the team won 53 matches and lost 29. 27 matches ended in a draw. He will always be remembered for his captaincy skills.

#3 Waqar Younis ( 22 years and 15 days )

Waqar Younis in action

Waqar Younis is one of the most feared bowlers in the history of cricket. He played in 87 Test matches and picked up 373 wickets, accompanied by 22 5-wicket hauls. Waqar is second on the list of highest wicket-takers for Pakistan in Tests.

Waqar earned his first captaincy opportunity when Wasim Akram was away from the game for a Test match. In the 1993-94 Test series against Zimbabwe, Waqar captained the team for the first time and led the team to an easy win.

He stood in as captain in 17 Tests and the team won 10 of those and lost the remaining 7 matches. The team drew an away series in England, 1-1 under his captaincy.

#2 Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi ( 21 years and 77 days )

Tiger Pataudi Jr. changed Indian cricket forever

Tiger Pataudi is a name that needs no introduction. He was one of the best fielders during his playing days and is also widely acclaimed as one of the greatest Indian cricket captains of all-time.

He was made the captain of the Indian Test side for the first time, during India's away series against West Indies. India lost the game and were also swept, 5-0 in the series. He captained India in 40 Tests. India won 9, lost 19 while 12 ended in a draw.

Under his captaincy, in 1974-75, India almost beat the great West Indian side in the home Test series. After first four Tests, the series was levelled at 2-2 each. However, the hosts lost the final Test by a margin of 201 runs to surrender the series 2-3 to West Indies.

#1 Tatenda Taibu ( 20 years and 358 days )

Zimbabwe coach Geoff Marsh gives the thumbs up to Tatenda Taibu

Tatenda Taibu is one of the most popular cricketers to have played for Zimbabwe. He represented the country in 28 Tests and accumulated 1546 runs at an average of 30.31. He also scored a century and 12 half-centuries.

Taibu made his Test debut against West Indies, at a very young age of 18 in 2001. He became captain for the first time in 2004 in a home series against Sri Lanka. The visitors won both the Tests and clinched the series 2-0.

The Zimbabwe team never won a Test match under his captaincy. Out of the 10 Tests in which he was the captain, they lost 9 and managed to draw 1.