It’s often said about good captaincy; “It’s hard to define but you know it when you see it.” Good captaincy comes in many different forms; bowling changes and field placements are subjective and successful captains can silence a critic by simply saying, “Look at my record.”
There’s one particular captaincy attribute that tends to be ever-present in a successful reign — a team wanting to perform for their leader. The perfect examples in recent times are Jason Holder’s involvement in the West Indies demolition of England in Barbados and Virat Kohli becoming the first Indian captain to win a Test series in Australia.
The West Indies players interviewed after their breathtaking win over England, spoke in glowing terms of Holder as a leader. It was pretty obvious they were prepared to go above and beyond for Holder. Watching India gradually assert superiority over Australia, it became clear that the tourists had bought into Kohli’s passionate pursuit of victory. Each moment of success was celebrated with vigour until finally they were able to frolic round the SCG as a team, triumphantly holding aloft the Border-Gavaskar trophy.
Kohli is as emotional on the field as any captain I’ve seen. That can be detrimental as often a team’s performance tends to fluctuate with the captain’s emotions. However, in Kohli’s case the team has adjusted to the emotional roller-coaster ride and they certainly didn’t lack any fighting spirit when the going became tough in Australia. This was a classic case of the captain having a clear vision for success and the team buying into the concept. Even personnel changes made no difference to the team’s unity of purpose.
{{/usCountry}}Kohli is as emotional on the field as any captain I’ve seen. That can be detrimental as often a team’s performance tends to fluctuate with the captain’s emotions. However, in Kohli’s case the team has adjusted to the emotional roller-coaster ride and they certainly didn’t lack any fighting spirit when the going became tough in Australia. This was a classic case of the captain having a clear vision for success and the team buying into the concept. Even personnel changes made no difference to the team’s unity of purpose.
{{/usCountry}}Holder has had it much tougher as a captain, acquiring the job well before he was ready and inheriting a team that was sub-standard against the established Test sides. In witnessing the early stages of his captaincy reign I saw nothing that marked him as a natural or indeed, even a leader of great potential.
The losses continued to pile up and it seemed like he was only keeping the seat warm until a better option was revealed. But he has grown into the job and the massive victory over England was a perfect example of what can be achieved when the team respects the captain and wants him to succeed.
Holder’s case is a classic example of why captains should never be judged solely on wins and losses. The captain of an under-staffed team can make the right moves but in the end his side just lacks the ability to finish off a superior opponent. The objective of a captain leading an ordinary side is to make that team better. This type of captain often keeps his battling team in the contest longer than their limited ability suggests is possible. Arjuna Ranatunga regularly achieved this feat with the Sri Lankan Test side.
The captain of a successful side can chalk up plenty of victories but often it’s purely down to the dominance of his team or the inferior capabilities of the opposition. Captains who are heavily reliant on their team’s outstanding skill are often shown up when the contest against a strong opponent becomes tight.
The challenge for Holder is to keep his charges on an upward trend and he achieved this by again dismantling England’s first innings in the second Test at Antigua. Too often in the West Indies’ recent past have they threatened a Renaissance only to disappoint. The fact that the West Indies seem to be once again gathering a pace attack of substance helps.
Kohli also benefits from a strong and varied attack and India should continue to prosper, as there seems to be a highly functional production line in both batsmen and fast bowlers. Both captains are currently enjoying the plaudits of fans as they bask in their teams’ success. However what will ensure continued success is maintaining the respect of their teammates and making sure they want to perform for their skipper.
(The author is a former Australian Test captain and is writing exclusively for Hindustan Times. Views personal)