SK Flashback: India's courageous captains of cricket

"The Bloodbath of Sabina Park" is not an event likely to be remembered fondly in the annals of Indian cricket history. Yet, perched as the team currently is, right at the top of the heap in the ICC Test rankings, such events do assist in putting into perspective the slow and painful process, the heroic individuals, and the massive time and effort it has taken for Indian cricket to reach the very top.

In the fourth Test of the 1976 tour of the West Indies, in the island of Jamaica, captain Bishan Singh Bedi declared the first innings with India at 306/6. Not because India were in a winning position, but because the West Indies pace attack was so menacing that quite a few batsmen were injured and the skipper thought it better to "protect" the remaining players from injury. In the second innings, five Indian batsmen (Anshuman Gaekwad, Gundappa Viswanath, Brijesh Patel, Bedi, and Chandrasekhar) were absent hurt, and India conceded the match with the score at 96.

Steely determination and the ability to adapt to alien conditions has always been a prerequisite to succeed in international cricket. Moreover, one or two individuals, no matter how talented, are never enough to achieve victory and it is absolutely imperative that all members of the team perform as a cohesive unit for a team to consistently do well.

The ability to instill such determination and self-belief, not just in oneself but in over two dozen other individuals to achieve a winning result is therefore the task of an international cricket captain.

The role of a captain in the game of cricket is perhaps far more significant than in most other sports. Not every cricketer, no matter how great, can be successful as a captain. History has borne witness to this fact and taking on the mantle of such a role requires inherent skills that not many possess. The ability to handle immense pressure and to not allow the same to affect either one's own performance or the team's is not a task easily handled.

The challenges facing a cricket captain in a cricket-crazy country like India are far more enormous where adulation in times of success can suddenly transform into abuse in times of failure. It is therefore worthwhile to acknowledge and appreciate a few exceptional gentleman who have excelled in this role over the years.

Sunny and the Haryana Hurricane

The statistics for Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev, who captained India through most of the 1980s (until 1987 to be precise) are less than impressive. A large number of drawn matches and not many wins (just 4 for Kapil Dev and 9 for Sunil Gavaskar). Let not the numbers fool us, however.

With not a single strike bowler in the side, except for Kapil Dev, winning Test matches abroad was an arduous task in the period when Sunny and Kapil were captain. It was a time when Clive Lloyd's West Indies were at their peak with a devastating pace bowling attack and an equally dangerous batting line-up.

So, the near-impossible task both captains faced was attempting to inspire their team to handle the pace quartet of Malcolm Marshall, Joel Garner, Andy Roberts, and Micheal Holding (nicknamed Whispering Death) who was also a part of 1976 side. As if that wasn't enough, the batting was equally menacing. When Gordon Greenidge, Desmond Haynes, Vivian Richards, and Clive Lloyd came in to bat, Kapil Dev had to shoulder, almost single-handedly the task of bowling the opposition out both as captain and under Gavaskar.

When India toured Pakistan in 1982-83, Imran Khan too was in the form of his life. Imran's pace and reverse swing ended the career of the Gundappa Vishwanath and wrecked the Indian batting, even with some great talent like Dilip Vengsarkar, Mohinder Amarnath, and Sandeep Patil in the ranks. In the batting department for Pakistan, Zaheer Abbas and Javed Miandad were totally untroubled by the Indian bowling and what's more, seemed to relish the Indian attack.

Team India then was neither adept at handling genuine pace nor in producing bowlers of any great pace at the time. Imagine a General marching his troops to battle the enemy who have all the ammunition needed in their arsenal when he himself hardly has any. Leading teams as underdogs to take on the best requires courage and character.

Both Kapil Dev and Sunil Gavaskar helped India garner great respect in cricketing circles. It was a time when Australia and England were considered the "elite" of the game with the Asian teams having negligible influence. Kapil Dev captained India to victory in the 1983 World Cup and Sunil Gavaskar in the 1985 World Championship of Cricket, thus forcing the cricketing world to look at India with renewed respect.

The Prince of Kolkata: Sourav Ganguly

Opposing captains of the 2003-04 series

After a period of utter chaos, shame, and scandal in the late 1990s, Indian cricket seemed to be in total disarray. The match fixing scandal had claimed its victims, among them captain, Mohammad Azharuddin. India's Test record in the 1990s too was far from inspiring with victories limited to series at home with just a solo win abroad against Sri Lanka. The Indian cricket team had gained a reputation of wilting under pressure and opposition teams like Australia capitalized on these and other weaknesses.

Indian cricket needed a tough man at the top, a lot of discipline, and a new direction. Saurav Ganguly seemed just the right man for the job. If any one individual can truly claim credit for putting Indian cricket back on the path to ascendancy, it is definitely the Prince of Kolkata. With a win percentage of 42.6% in Tests and 51.7% in ODIs, Saurav changed the script forever. India had become a force to reckon with at home and abroad.

On March 1, 2003 at the Centurion, India played traditional rivals Pakistan in a World Cup group encounter. Pakistan had fielded a four pronged-pace attack comprising Wasim Akram, Shoaib Akhtar, Waqar Younis, and Abdul Razzaq. Batting first, Pakistanput 273 on the board which was a formidable total considering the nature of the pitch and the bowling attack. An epic innings from Sachin Tendulkar ensured that India prevailed, much against the odds in what was one of the most memorable matches ever for an Indian cricket fan.

Ganguly himself did not score in the match. But his captaincy inspired the team all the way to the finals of the World Cup where they lost to Australia. In 2003-04, India under Saurav, conquered the final frontier, so to speak. Touring Australia who were at their best at the time, not many had given the Indians a chance.

The first Test in Brisbane was drawn with the skipper scoring a magnificent 144 in the first innings. In the second Test at the Adelaide Oval, Australia scored a mammoth 556 in the first innings. Undaunted, Ganguly's boys were equal to the task scoring 523 and bundling Australia out for 196 in the second innings to secure a historic victory by 4 wickets. The self-belief that Saurav Ganguly instilled into the team was unmistakable and India won the Border Gavaskar trophy after the series ended 1-1. Not surprising then, that the drought of overseas victories finally ended with 11 away wins with Ganguly as captain.

Captain Cool: MS Dhoni

India v Pakistan - ICC Champions Trophy Final

Mahendra Singh Dhoni catapulted the team to greater heights and India, currently under Viral Kohli, are on top of the world. Getting there, however, has been a process that has taken decades. India won the World Cup in 2011, achieving a level of consistency which hitherto had seemed impossible. India also attained the number 1 ranking in Tests under MSD.

Indian cricket has indeed come a long way since the ignominious defeat in Sabina Park. Former Pakistan cricket captain Imran Khan has said often that fast bowling standards around the world have declined considerably since his playing days so batsmen have it easier nowadays than they did then.

While such a decline cannot be proven easily with numbers or technology, the legend that he is, Imran knows what he is talking about. So, in spite of the numbers lets give credit to the men who lead from the front with courage and conviction. No doubt, their efforts have lead to where Indian cricket has reached today.