MS Dhoni has marginally edged out Sourav Ganguly as the more impactful captain in a Star Sports survey, in which two of India’s most successful captains were judged across a number parameters developed in collaboration with ESPNcricinfo.
While Dhoni used to be rated the most efficient ODI and home-Test captain by remarkable margins, Ganguly used to be the lucid winner in the away-Test captaincy category. Ganguly used to be also rated the better captain in the case of the team he developed from the players he inherited.
A jury comprising former players, journalists and broadcasters from across the globe scored each and every player out of ten in eight different categories: red-ball captaincy at home and absent, white-ball captaincy, batting record as captain, how they transformed the teams they inherited and the quality of the teams they left in the back of, their major achievements, and each and every captain’s overall have an effect on. After totalling up the entire scores in each and every category, Dhoni used to be the winner by 0.4 points.
The most closely contested categories were batting record as captain, the teams the two left in the back of, and overall have an effect on, with Dhoni nicking the first category and Ganguly edging him out in the other two.
A number of the former players who voted in the ballot were former South Africa captain Graeme Smith, former Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara and former India openers Gautam Gambhir and Kris Srikkanth. Here is what they have got to say on why they voted how they voted.
Tests Home
Survey results Dhoni (8.2) beats Ganguly (7.4)
While both men had strong records, Dhoni had to work a little harder with the personnel he had, and the truth that he did that successfully is obvious in how his teams were rarely beaten.
Gambhir: Sourav had Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh bowling in tandem. MS Dhoni had only Harbhajan Singh so he had to find a second spinner. So probably MS Dhoni because he did not have Anil Kumble in his armory.
ESPNcricinfo Ltd
Tests Absent
Survey results Ganguly (7.2) beats Dhoni (5.5)
Ganguly’s teams were harder to defeat when they travelled. He missing only 10 of 28 matches absent from home – that’s 36%. But Dhoni’s teams missing 15 out of 30 – they were twice as likely to lose (50%) as win (20%) out of doors of India
Srikkanth: In difficult conditions, he started winning Test matches. That’s when India believed we will be able to whip England in England, Australia in Australia and Pakistan in Pakistan. That belief came from Ganguly
Sangakkara: Ganguly did not like losing. You saw his emotions coming out in more than a few stages. But it used to be not just destructive. It came out because he truly hurt when India missing.
Gambhir: The expectations after winning the World Cup… we just couldn’t deliver. Whether we had gone with an open brain, thinking that even supposing we lose, the world may not come to an end, we probably would have provided ourselves a better chance. Whether our first mean had been to go out and win, we just didn’t have that.
Smith: Ganguly brought a hardness and a toughness to Indian cricket. He certainly used to be a enormous pillar in the strength of Indian cricket and where it’s gone to today. And I all the time felt, even if MS had some success and India had some success, they were all the time missing that one element of aggression.
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Star Sports Cricket Connected: Ganguly v Dhoni – Who used to be the more impactful captain?
ODI captaincy
Survey results: Dhoni (8.1) beats Ganguly (6.8)
There used to be only one winner, but also a tantalising what whether. What whether Ganguly had the quality of limited-overs players that Dhoni did?
Sangakkara: It used to be approximately the ability of MS winning those important moments by taking very simple decisions. He had numerous clarity and numerous confidence not just in his decision but also in trusting the player to deliver and he left the over-thinking to the opposition. But I think Dada had to work much much harder, with the team that he had, to receive into those big moments.
Smith: Whether Dada had had an MS kind player, his team used to be fairly more developed, I think you would have seen his team win more trophies.
Transforming teams
Survey results: Ganguly (8.6) beats Dhoni (7.3)
Lucid winner again.
Srikkanth: Ganguly transformed the mindset of the Indian team. Then the implausible winning combination used to be provided on a platter and said, here Dhoni, you have an unbelievable team, just continue what we started.
Smith: People only see what they are able to see. A large number of work goes in the back of the scenes as leader and one is identifying players and bringing them through, taking a chance on talent and I think Dada did that truly polite.
ESPNcricinfo Ltd
Teams left in the back of
Survey results: Ganguly (7.8) beats Dhoni (7.6)
This used to be a tight race. Ganguly gave India more players. He took over the side at a time of transition so a major a part of his mandate used to be to find and blood new talent. Dhoni, though, helped minimize the fear of being dropped, giving those he believed in the time needed to settle in the team and transform their best selves. Virat Kohli is a fine example of that. Still, there needed to be a winner and a loser.
Gambhir: When MS Dhoni finished (his captaincy stint), he hasn’t provided enough quality players to Virat Kohli, with the exception of Virat Kohli himself and Rohit Sharma. Or Jasprit Bumrah now. There don’t seem to be too many world beaters, or probably people who win you tournaments. But look at what Sourav Ganguly gave to Indian cricket. Yuvraj Singh, man of the series in two World Cups [Yuvraj was only man of the series in the 2011 World Cup. Shahid Afridi was man of the series in the 2007 World T20], Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Virender Sehwag – some of these world beaters.
Batting record as captain
Survey results: Dhoni (7.8) beats Ganguly (7.4)
How do you choose from a breathtaking finisher in ODIs and a Test batsman who began by making Lord’s bow down to him?
Gambhir: In white-ball cricket, MS Dhoni hands down. But in Test cricket, Sourav Ganguly. Because MS Dhoni, absent from home or absent from the subcontinent, doesn’t also have a hundred. And Sourav Ganguly has got a hundred at Lord’s, in Australia.
Smith: It’s nearly not possible to move absent from the have an effect on MS Dhoni had on the game, on world cricket. His ability to finish, to maintain the pressures in the nearly gladiatorial moments in his career will leave an eternal reminiscence. I agree that in relation to Tests, you all the time felt you had an possibility to work him over, particularly absent and out of India. In the case of Test cricket, I will have to take a seat with Dada, but one-day cricket, MS is my man.
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Star Sports Cricket Connected: Ganguly v Dhoni – Who used to be the more impactful captain?
Achievements
Survey results: Dhoni (8.5) beats Ganguly (7.2)
There’s only one world champion between the two and he is taking the round.
Srikkanth: Come on man, World Cup 2011, the Champions Trophy, wins in Australia, Sri Lanka, of class lesson the T20 World Cup. So as a limited-overs captain, Dhoni had a enormous, enormous have an effect on both as a captain in addition to a player and as a wicketkeeper, don’t disregard that.
Gambhir: Purely from the trophies point of view, it’s MS Dhoni. But whether you see the have an effect on throughout those tournaments, MS didn’t have this sort of big have an effect on as a player. But in the 2003 World Cup, Sourav Ganguly had a fabulous World Cup. Whether you see the 2007 T20 World Cup, MS didn’t score too many runs and neither did he score too many runs in 2011 as polite. But yes, as a leader when you talk approximately winning trophies, yes MS Dhoni. He is won both the World Cups, T20 and 2011, and the Champions Trophy. Sourav hasn’t won anything with the exception of the Natwest Trophy. [India were also joint winners of the 2002 Champions Trophy under Ganguly after the final was washed out on two consecutive days].
Overall have an effect on
Survey results Ganguly (8.1) beats Dhoni (7.9)
Another tight race, with one man claiming trophies and climing to the top of the ICC rankings and the other gifting India players of enormous quality and, most importantly, the belief that they are able to win, even against the most efficient
Gambhir: Both these guys have taken Indian cricket forward. Yes, MS Dhoni got it a little easier than Sourav Ganguly, but purely from the have an effect on point of view I will only talk approximately MS Dhoni because he used to be very very serious approximately taking Indian cricket forward. People in truth all the time used to think that he used to be not too serious approximately Test cricket, but he used to be equally serious approximately Test cricket as polite. That used to be one of the vital reasons why we reached No.1 as polite.
Smith: Sourav made this sort of big have an effect on in Indian cricket in the case of the talent he brought, the mentality he brought… I think that like Allan Border probably did in the early days of Australian cricket, setting them up for the success, I think you have to look for Dada here and say what he did for Indian cricket used to be iconic. He did the tough yards and a majority of these wonderful players and captains followed.