The unluckiest captains in world cricket
Mahendra Singh Dhoni is two IPL matches away from leading Chennai Super Kings to their third straight IPL crown
Carlyle Laurie
25-Feb-2013
Mahendra Singh Dhoni is two IPL matches away from leading Chennai Super Kings to their third straight IPL crown. Dhoni’s success ratio has prompted some to call him one of the luckiest captains in history. Avinash Subramaniam, writing for firstpost.com, looks back at the tenure of Kim Hughes, Brian Lara, Ravi Shastri, Tatienda Taibu and Aron ‘Ali’ Bacher, all captains that did the job with varying success.
How lucky a captain is Mahendra Singh Dhoni? Most people would unabashedly say, well, of course, very. Speaking of the role luck plays in the life of a captain, here’s what one of Australia’s great captains, Richie Benaud, had to say on the matter, “Captaincy is 90 percent luck and 10 percent skill. But don’t try it without that 10 percent.”
Keeping Benaud’s pithy views in mind, here are five captains who, in the opinion of this writer, certainly possessed a bit of skill but didn’t have Lady Luck on their side. Is this a complete list? Well, of course. Not.