Five legends of the game who failed as captains

There have been numerous legends of the game who have led their national sides, and have had great success in the same. However, there have been a few who have failed as skippers. There were many reasons for their failures. One of them had to deal with the racial quota system even though the team had better players. Some lacked the basic etiquette of leadership while others had a bad team.

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This is the reason they are not remembered as great captains but as great players. After stepping down, some of these players played under multiple skippers and did well. One of them retired as the captain of the team. In this listicle, we will discuss five legends who failed as captains.

Five legends who failed as captains

Andrew Flintoff (Image Credit : Twitter)

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1. Andrew Flintoff

The former England all-rounder goes down as one of the great all-rounders in the history of the game. Be it ball or ball, he excelled in both departments of the game. The best part was, that he had a injury-ridden career.

However, his record as skipper is abysmal. In the 11 Tests as captain, he has lost seven games, two draws and as many victories. His aggressive style of play couldn't yield him results as a skipper. 

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Heath Streak (Image Credit : Twitter)

2. Heath Streak

He was one of the finest players Zimbabwe had during their peak. Throw him bat or ball, he would do the required job for the team. However, he failed as captain even though he had a good squad.

In the 68 ODIs he led, the team could only win 18 out of them. Not to forget, he had to deal with racial quotas where he was asked to select 'Black players' instead of players who had the skills. 

Brian Lara (Image Credit : Twitter)

3. Brian Lara

The Trinidadian 'Prince' was one of the few players who excelled in ODIs and Tests for the West Indies after their dominant era of the 70s and 80s. He is the only player to score 400 and 500 runs individually.

However, as captain, he failed miserably. In the 47 Tests he led, the team only won 10 and lost 26. As a batter, he has close to 12000 runs to his name which is incredible. 

Chris Gayle (Image Credit : Twitter)

4. Chris Gayle

The Jamaican replaced Lara after the latter's retirement. He led the team in 53 games but could only won17 and lost 30. The left-hander carried the expectations of taking the team forward in a better way than his predecessor.

As it turned out, he failed immensely and left the job in around 2009. After that, he played international cricket till last year under several skippers. 

Sachin Tendulkar (Image Credit : Twitter)

5. Sachin Tendulkar

The Mumbaikar played was blessed with superb batting skills. He captained the team twice where he was persisted within the initial phase, but went on to step down after the second phase.

After four wins in 25 Tests and 23 wins in 73 ODIs, he decided to let the job go and let the more abled person to fulfil the responsibilities. He had an opportunity to lead the team again in 2007 but he suggested the selection committee to let MS Dhoni lead the side.