Best players don8217;t make best captains,says Lara

The little master failed to lead the team to success with series often ending in heavy defeats.

With a long career that has dominated the record books,Sachin Tendulkar has only one blemish in his 24-year long career: captaincy.

Tendulkar,who8217;s farewell Test begins on Thursday against the West Indies at the Wankhede,had two terms as captain between 1996 to 1997 and 1999 to 2000. However,the little master failed to lead the team to success with series often ending in heavy defeats. While some argue that the cricketer was not necessarily the one at fault,others claim that he may not have been captain material.

Speaking at the Salaam Sachin Conclave,former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar claimed that the selection process to pick the team that played under Tendulkars captaincy was flawed. A captain is only as good as his team, said the 57-year-old. The selectors didnt give him the right players. If Sachin asked for an off-spinner,they gave him a leg-spinner, he added.

This was stated in light of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in 1999,when the Tendulkar-led India side toured Australia only to be defeated 3-0 in the Test series. The team crumbled in that series,but Sachin won the man of the tournament. He even got a man of the match award in one game. He was playing well,but the team couldnt support him, lamented Vengsarkar.

Former India captain Bishan Singh Bedi claimed Tendulkars general demeanour and his humble nature went against him being a successful captain. He is shy and withdrawn. So naturally he wasnt made too well to be captain, he said. Former West Indian captain Brian Lara,who is often compared to the 40-year-old claimed,based on his own experiences,that the best player in the team is not necessarily the best captain for that side. At an under-16 or school level,it is natural for the best player to be team captain,and that is fine. But at the international level,it can be hard to get all the players to gel. Its hard to get the other 10 players to perform well while also keeping yourself in check. Sometimes there is a little envy amongst the players when a new captain is selected,but either way,it is never easy to be captain, he said.

BCCI vice president Rajeev Shukla mentioned that the BCCI had thought of making Tendulkar the captain in 2005 after Sourav Ganguly stepped down. We approached him before we could go to Rahul Dravid,but he gave us a straight forward no, he said. At a recent media interaction,Mumbai Cricket Association MCA chief Sharad Pawar claimed that it was Tendulkar who had recommended MS Dhoni as captain in 2007.

Regardless of his shortcomings as captain,Tendulkar is remembered by fans and fellow sportspersons alike for his humble nature off the field,and his explosive batting and thoroughly professional behaviour on it.