Former India cricketer-turned-commentator Aakash Chopra believes the legacy of a captain is determined by the ICC trophies they won and not by staying at the top of the rankings or win percentages.
While Chopra didn’t comment on Virat Kohli’s captaincy, Chopra’s remarks came in the wake of India’s 8-wicket defeat at the hands of New Zealand in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2021 final.
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He cited the examples of India’s World Cup-winning captains Kapil Dev and MS Dhoni to put forward his point.
“What was Kapil Dev's win percentage in ODI cricket as a captain? Did Sourav Ganguly's India team ever make it to the top spot in the ODI or Test rankings? If you think it did, for how long did it stay at that position? What was MS Dhoni's ODI win percentage compared to that of his predecessor, Rahul Dravid?
“These are tough, somewhat nerdy questions, right? Let's make it easier. Who was the captain when India won their first World Cup? Who was the captain when India won the T20 World Cup in 2007, and the 50-over World Cup in 2011? You probably answered even before you read the questions fully. Of course it was Kapil Dev who led India to their first World Cup win in 1983, and Dhoni is the answer to the two other questions.
“This is how legacies are defined in cricket. As much as some of us might want it to be about the cold numbers, it will never be that way in sport,” Chopra wrote in his column for ESPNCricinfo.
Team India have failed to lift an ICC trophy after the Champions Trophy triumph in 2013. Since then, they have lost three finals (2014 T20 World Cup, 2017 Champions Trophy, 2021 WTC) and as many semi-finals (2015 ODI World Cup, 2016 T20 World Cup and 2019 ODI World Cup).
Virat Kohli was the leader of the pack in the last three ICC tournaments.
Reflecting on India’s performance in the WTC final, Chopra said: “Yes, the neutral venue was not really neutral, for it favoured New Zealand more than India. The preparation for both teams was also quite different, and that too favoured New Zealand more than it did India. But all that will be and should be forgotten. One thing that India might find tough to forget is the hour that cost them their name on the trophy.”
“Was it lack of planning, or the wrong planning, or the lack of proper execution? Only the Indian dressing room will know the answer to these questions. This Indian team has stayed at the top of the Test rankings for five straight years, but unfortunately history will remember the one hour that India didn't plan. The legacy of teams and captains is defined by the trophies they win; it doesn't matter how many battles you win if you fail to win the war,” he further remarked.
