BackSachin Tendulkar is widely regarded as one of the greatest cricketers to have played the game. During his illustrious career, the batting legend played under several iconic leaders and also had the opportunity to captain the Indian team.
While Tendulkar’s own stint as captain was challenging, he enjoyed considerable success under other leaders. During a recent Q&A session on Reddit, he was asked about his favourite captain to have played under, along with his experience of leading India and his thoughts on South Africa’s current Test captain.
Tendulkar named Sourav Ganguly and MS Dhoni as his two favourite captains from his international career. The batting legend played under Ganguly during India’s run to the 2003 ODI World Cup final. He was also part of the Indian team that won the 2011 World Cup under Dhoni’s leadership.
“As far as my favourite captains go, Sourav Ganguly and MS Dhoni would definitely be at the top of my list! It was a great honour to lead the team as captain. However, I did not always have the freedom to pick my team entirely on my own. The BCCI today is a far more professional organisation than it was in the 1990s. Indian cricket also went through a particularly dark phase during that period,” Tendulkar said.
Tendulkar also reflected on his own experience as India’s captain. He led the team in 25 Test matches across two stints between 1996 and 2000. However, he admitted that he did not always have complete freedom when it came to selecting the playing XI. He stepped down from the role in March 2000 following a home series defeat against South Africa.
Tendulkar was also offered the opportunity to return as India’s Test captain in 2007 but declined. During the Q&A session, Tendulkar was also asked to rate Temba Bavuma’s captaincy, particularly in Test cricket. The former India captain expressed admiration for Bavuma’s leadership and praised the South African skipper for leading his team from the front.