| SACHIN AS CAPTAIN |
| G WORLD CRICKET SECTION |
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Sachin: Is it the case of a Captain lost but a batsman gained? When Sachin Tendulkar was appointed the Captain of India for the first time in 1996, millions of cricket fans in India were delighted because they thought that Sachin's greatness as a batsman would translate into his captaincy and that would mean many more wins for India. Things began quite well as Sachin led the team to series wins over Australia and South Africa in test series at home. After leading India to a win in the Titan Cup one day series the selectors and the millions of cricket fans in India thought that the messiah has arrived. However, it was not to be as Sachin's men failed miserably on the twin tours to South Africa and the West Indies where they lost both the test and one day series comprehensively. His captaincy too was criticized from every quarter and with some justification too. After India failed to chase 120 in the fourth inns at Barbados disgruntled fans started calling for his head. The slump in Sachin's own batting form didn't help matters. A defeat at the hands of arch rivals Pakistan in the Independence cup held in India sent Sachin's boys crashing out of the tournament. His captaincy levels dipped terribly and his batting form too showed no signs of improvement on India's tours to Sri Lanka and Sharjah where India lost all the matches. After India failed to win against Sri Lanka under home conditions the selectors relieved Sachin of the burden of Captaincy and reinstated Azhar as Captain. The decision had the desired effect as Sachin blossomed as a batsman and achieved dizzy heights scoring 10 ODI hundreds and 5 test hundreds during Azhar's second tenure. The Second Coming Sachin was reappointed as Captain following Azhar's failure to lead India past the Super Six phase of the over hyped World Cup. One feels that it was here that the selectors blundered as Sachin had openly refused to take over the Captaincy and he said he wasn't mentally prepared for the job. The selectors forced the mantle of Captaincy over him as they thought there wasn't anybody suitable for the job. Perhaps they were right. A career threatening back injury kept him out for the majority of the matches played early on during his second stint. But he showed good form both with the bat and as a captain as he led India to a win at home over the in form Kiwis in both forms of the game. But the tour to Australia would prove to be the ultimate test of his captaincy. It was the ultimate test and a test in which Sachin failed miserably both as a tactician as well as a leader but his batting form especially in the test series was good and he won the man of the series award for his exploits with the bat. India lost the test series 3-0 and lost all but one match in the Carlton and United one day tournament. Poor performances with the bat in the one day series as well as controversies over team selections particularly the non inclusion of Mohammad Azharuddin and Nayan Mongia didn't help matters for Sachin as he was held responsible for dropping the axe on the two players. Just a few days prior to the South African tour to India, Sachin announced that he was relinquishing the Captaincy citing moral responsibility over India's poor performances in Australia. He was forced to stay on for the two match test series against the Springboks. Defeat in both the games and some poor captaincy only strengthened the belief that Sachin wasn't the man meant for the job. He vowed never to lead India again and the captaincy went to the prince of Calcutta Saurav Ganguly. A look at the Captaincy record of the man who everyone thought was born to lead the country but failed miserably but may be it will be the case of a captain lost but a batsman gained. |
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