Probably the greatest batsman to play for India, Sachin Tendulkar owns almost every batting record. The highest run-scorer in two formats, Tendulkar also scored ‘record’ 100 international centuries in his career. Apart from that, Tendulkar is also the most capped player in the history of the sport. But he struggled when it came to captaincy.
The Master Blaster had two stints as the captain of the national team but he failed on both the occasions. He continued to play international cricket for 13 years after his final stint as the captain but did not take over the position again. The reason behind him struggling as the captain remains a mystery.
Former India all-rounder Madan Lal, who coached India from 1996 to 1997, recently opened up on Tendulkar’s captaincy stint. As per Madan, Tendulkar was so involved in his own performance, the reason why he failed to deliver as the captain.
“I won’t agree with you that he was not a great captain. But he was so involved in his own performance, he found it difficult to take care of the team. Because as a captain you not only need to take care of your performance, but also get the best performance from the other 10 players. It is critical how you manage them,” he told Sportskeeda. Madan, a member of 1983 World Cup-winning team, played 39 Tests and 67 ODIs from 1974 to 1987.
Tendulkar, who retired from international cricket in 2013, led India in 25 Test matches. Under him, India only managed to win four Tests while they lost nine games – 12 matches ended in a draw. Tendulkar had a long stint as the ODI captain but India only managed to win 23 out of 73 matches under him.
