5 stand-in captains who have an excellent record

Captaincy is more than an art in Cricket. It involves mustering several elements like leadership, immense concentration and awareness, man-management, sacrifices, strategizing and empathizing on and off the field. Few captains take the role like a duck takes to water and few others learn the tricks of the trade along with time.One of the most important aspects of captaincy from a team management perspective is to identify the deputy/successor for the role. Again, some successors are identified at an early stage given their innate abilities while some are identified at a later stage.A few matches of stand-in captaincy in the absence of the captain will prove as an acid test for many. It will be bestowed on some other player in the absence of both the captain and the vice-captain. The role of stand-in captains can be double-edged. Few players take up the responsibility with much less pressure as it is a temporary role, but the same temporary responsibility overwhelms few players. It has been a case of hit and miss for most of the players. Only a few have delivered. Here are 5 of them:

#1 Shane Warne

Shane Warne – The greatest captain that could have been?

Every cricket team would consider themselves blessed to have him as a spinner. Unarguably, he is one of the greatest spinners in the history of the game. But, have Australia missed one of the greatest captains too? Not that there was a dearth of captaincy in their ranks anyway. But, he will always remain as one of those few bowlers who could have gone on to become an astute leader of the game. His records as a stand-in captain seem to reflect that belief.

He had the opportunity to lead his country in ODIs for 11 matches in the absence of Steve Waugh. He managed to win 10 of those 11 matches at an impressive win percentage of 90.90. It is not just the results that stand a testimony to his potential. His aggressive tactics and progressive approach drew plenty of admirers.

He seemed like a natural leader who inspired his men with ease. Michael Clarke and Richie Benaud consider him as one of the greatest captains that could have been. He never got the chance to captain Australia in Tests though. Unfortunately, his turbulent relationship with the board because of his boorish off-field behavior meant that he was never considered for the full-time role.

His Australian captaincy stint apart, he has also captained the Rajasthan Royals to victory at the inaugural IPL. That victory showcased his true captaincy potential as he inspired a relatively unknown side to the crown. To cap it off, he was almost 40 when he did that.

#2 Adam Gilchrist

Adam Gilchrist – A brilliant deputy

Here is another Australian, a perennial vice-captain of the side, who displayed some impressive showing on the field as a stand-in captain. Coming in to replace Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting, he led his side with calmness and true spirit, much like the person that he is. Captaining Australia (In three of the four Tests) to a series victory against India in 2004-05 would remain as his greatest achievement as a captain.

He led Australia for 17 ODI matches out of which they won 12 and lost 4. 1 match ended up without a result. With an impressive win percentage of 75%, he proved to be an able replacement on several occasions.

The ODI record notwithstanding, he also led the Test side for 6 matches out of which they won 4 and lost just 1 with another one ending up in draw. The loss percentage in Tests at just 16.66% is an admirable record given that 3 out of those 6 Tests were in the sub-continent.

With him doubling up as a wicket-keeper as well, he felt taking up captaincy as a full-time role would eat into his other tasks. This was also one of the reasons why the captaincy was given to Ricky Ponting after Steve Waugh retired. Gilchrist, after serving as Waugh’s deputy, continued that role during Ponting’s reign as well. He also captained the Deccan Charges Hyderabad to the IPL title in 2009. That was the second successive IPL victory for Australian stand-in captains.

#3 Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli – A passionate skipper

India’s current Test captain has been a relatively long understudy of MS Dhoni. Undoubtedly the best performer for India across the formats over the past 4 years, he has been captain in the making. On the back of his impressive performance in Australia (2011-12), he was named vice-captain of the side. Known for his aggressiveness, he has captained India in the absence of MSD with passion and confidence.

Virat has had the chance to stand in for MSD in 17 matches out of which he has led India to victory in 14 of them. With only 3 losses and a win percentage of 82.35%, he has justified the selectors’ decision to earmark him as the future captain.

Although the 17 matches were against relatively weaker oppositions, it still did give a glimpse of his approach to captaincy. He never feared to risk and has always looked to win matches.

The famous Adelaide Test in 2014 where he rallied his team to go for the win against all odds is a mere example of that. Although they lost the match, Kohli did win many hearts in Australia. That proved to be the perfect start with an imperfect result. He has also shown that the responsibility does not affect his batting.

With the inevitability of ODI captaincy as well, Virat Kohli is set to become the future for India. With a little bit of honing to his aggression, his records as a stand-in captain will only get translated to his full-time captaincy.

#4 Johan Botha

Johan Botha considered himself a limited-overs specialist.

Johan Botha, the South African off-spinner, has always been a limited overs specialist. While Graeme Smith had a long haul as captain of SA, Botha was tipped to become the successor during the twilight of Smith’s career.

He was also made captain of the T20 side after Smith surrendered the captaincy. In ODIs, he has captained South Africa in Smith’s absence for 10 matches. He was also widely regarded in the South African circuit as a good tactician in the shorter formats of the game.

In the 10 matches he was made the stand-in captain, he led the side to 8 victories while losing only 2 matches with an impressive win percentage of 80. After such impressive results and being the first choice spinner in ODIs, he was going to become the ODI captain of SA after the 2011 world up.

However, his limitations in Test cricket meant that the South African selectors handed over the captaincy to AB De Villiers after the world cup while also stripping the T20 captaincy from him. The reason stated was that they were looking for a man who would be playing all three formats. His loss in form and the rise of Imran Tahir and Robin Peterson also worked against his favor.

#5 George Bailey

George Bailey had a long haul as a stand-in captain.

George Bailey has probably played the most number of ODI matches as a stand-in captain than anybody else which can be attributed to the recurring injuries for Michael Clarke. After his appointment as the T20 captain in his debut in 2012, he was drafted into the ODI side in the absence of Clarke and his impressive showing with the bat thereafter meant that he went on to captain the ODI side as well in the absence of the vice-captain, Shane Watson.

He was then appointed the vice-captain of Australia in ODIs in 2013. Over these three years, he has stood in as a captain for 29 matches and led his side to victories in 16 of them. They lost 10 of those matches with 3 ending up without a result.

At a win percentage of 61.53%, he proved as an adequate replacement. His captaincy only elevated his batting form as he amassed more than 1000 runs at an impressive average with a few half-centuries and a couple of centuries to go with. He was also tipped to be the captain of the 2015 Australian World Cup side in the absence of Michael Clarke.

However, his poor run with the bat in 2014 and Steven Smith’s ascendancy led to his place in the side becoming turbulent. He now faces a daunting task to get his place back in the side. Much like Shane Warne and Adam Gilchrist, Bailey has also led his IPL side impressively. He captained Kings XI Punjab to the finals in the 2014 edition. He is known for his nonchalant smile on the field even when the opposition is toying around with his bowlers.