4 cricketing greats who never captained Team India
What's the story
Over the years, the Indian cricket team has been led by some of the best players in the world. From Sourav Ganguly to MS Dhoni, there have been plenty of match-winners who have shouldered the responsibility of captaincy. However, among these legends are a few modern-day greats who never got a chance to lead Team India on the international stage. Let's take a look at four such cricketers.
#1
Yuvraj Singh
Yuvraj Singh, one of the greatest limited-overs players in cricket history, was a big-match player.
He could handle tough situations with ease and lead from the front.
Yuvraj was instrumental to India's triumphs at the 2007 T20 World Cup and 2011 ODI World Cup.
However, he never got a chance to captain India due to MS Dhoni's emergence as a successful leader.
Yuvraj, who was India's vice-captain for a few instances, played 399 international matches for India, recording 11,686 runs and 147 wickets.
#2
VVS Laxman
VVS Laxman was India's rescue machine back in the day. He painted runs across the pitch with his exquisite strokes.
A consistent performer in Test matches and a capable white-ball batsman, Laxman was respected by all in the dressing room.
Despite his 15-year-long career with Team India, he never got a chance to lead the side even temporarily.
Laxman retired with 220 appearances for India across formats and 11,119 runs.
#3
Harbhajan Singh
One of the greatest off-spinners in the game's history, Harbhajan Singh enjoyed an illustrious career with Team India.
He was someone who could turn the game on its head with his breathtaking spells.
A two-time World Cup winner, Harbhajan is still India's third-highest wicket-taker in international cricket with 707 wickets from 365 matches.
Despite serving as vice-captain for a few games, Harbhajan never got to captain India.
#4
Ravichandran Ashwin
Ravichandran Ashwin will go down as one of the sharpest thinkers of the game.
His analysis of the game and unorthodox strategies have been hailed by many.
On top of that, the off-spinner finished his international career with 765 wickets across 287 matches.
Despite being the vice-captain of the Test team for a while, he never got to lead the side.
Many believed that he could become the makeshift Test skipper when Virat Kohli stepped down from the role in early 2022.
However, that post went to Rohit Sharma.