Three best captains of the decade in Test cricket

In the oldest format of the game, it is not just about hitting big sixes or bowling the fastest balls, it is about showing character and temperament on the field and having a stomach to continue the same for five days on-field. This is only possible when you have a strong firm leader in the contingent who guides you in your lows and humbles you in your highs. And as this decade, which was a roller coaster of events comes to an end, it wraps with it uncountable memories and several records which were broken to establish the new ones. Hence, it seems perfect at this moment to make a list of the top test skippers who led their teams into numerous ventures and emerged as the most successful captains of the decade. 

So, here is a list of captains who managed to make a mark and be on top of this "leaderboard." 

3. Michael Clarke (Australia) 

The skipper of the most fierce side, Michael Clarke led his team on the field in 47 International matches out of which 24 ended in a winning cause. This marks a winning percentage of 51.06 and is ranked amongst the best of the decade before he opted for his retirement because if his poor performance. The Australian bigwig represented his team on 115 occasions in International test matches and has 8643 runs to his name which include 28 centuries, and a mammoth score of 329 runs as his career highest.

Under his captaincy, Australia was dominating the world and was undefeated for many series. 

He was known for his intimidating nature and for declaring innings at any possible time to show his dominance in the game. Along with having great stats as a successful captain, he also contributed to the on-field buzz which made it fun for the viewers. 

2. Graeme Smith (South Africa) 

The tall hard hitter South African Graeme Smith was the youngest captain for his nation. He started to lead the side just at the age of 22 and took the teams from the ruins of the match-fixing by his former teammates to new heights and made a name for himself as well as for the team. Soon after taking the reigns, he hit two back to back double centuries on foreign soil with his highest overseas score of 259, which is also the highest by a non-British on the Lord's. 

He was a great captain and was an excellent example of an ideal skipper. He was known for taking bold decisions on-field and would never back down in tough situations. He led the side in 109 matches out of which the side won 53 and 27 came as draw or a tie. His epitome of success came after defeating the strong Australian side in a test series twice. He also has a triumphant record against his name, which is of making 3 English captains take retirement post a humiliating defeat by his side. 

1. Virat Kohli (India) 

Virat Kohli or as he is famously known as King Kohli was born to lead team India. He started on his International cricketing career as skipper of the under 19 squad and rose to fame by winning the tournament. He took the reigns of the Indian test squad to form his mentor friend M.S. Dhoni, the captain cool. Under him, the team saw a very stark transition in the captaincy as Kohli was just the opposite of Dhoni on-field, where one was ice, the other was a fire gun. 

Yet the only thing that remained the same was the team's success in this format. Virat's captaincy is just as his batting skills upfront dominant and works on the good old values of adapting, improvising and improving for better. He took the team to become the world leaders with a striking winning percentage of 62.26 which came from 33 winnings from 53 matches. He also has the most wins by an innings or more. Under him, the Indian side is undefeated for 12 consecutive test series. These stats make him the best skipper standing.

Cover image credits: DNA India