Indian politician Shashi Tharoor, a passionate cricket fan, has said that he was never convinced of Sachin Tendulkar’s abilities as a captain. Tharoor felt that he thought Tendulkar was the best option to be the captain of India in the mid-1990s, but his perception changed when he was given the responsibility and did not get the best results.
“I thought Tendulkar was the best possible captain for India before he became captain. Because when he wasn’t a captain, he was very active, he was fielding on slips, running towards the captain of the day, giving him advice and encouragement, ”Tharoor told SportsKeeda in an interview.
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Tendulkar was named captain in 1996, and in the 73 ODI in which he led India, the team won 23 games, while losing 43; his winning percentage was an overwhelming 35.07. In Tests, Tendulkar’s record as captain was even worse, with India winning just four and losing nine of the 25 matches that they captained the team. Winning Percentage – An Abysmal 16.
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“I said let’s make this boy captain because he really is there in every way. When he became captain, it didn’t work out. He had a not very strong Indian team in his captaincy days, but he himself would admit that he was not the most inspiring and motivating captain, ”added Tharoor.
“This was partly because he had to think about his own hitting. And in the end, he happily resigned the captaincy and refused to accept it when he was offered again later. “
Under Tendulkar, India had one of its worst tours abroad in 1999 when the team went to Australia. India was left blank 0-3 in the test series and won only one of 14 matches in the ODI tri-series involving Pakistan as the third team. Tendulkar would be the captain of India in another pair of test matches at home before being replaced by Sourav Ganguly in 2000.
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