Will Shewag make a Good Cricket captain for India

Virender Shewag has been playing cricket for almost a decade. During this period he has proved himself an average plus player,perhaps a lttle short of greatness. This is primarily because of his failures on overseas soil, though his record on home wickets is formidable, with 2 tripple hundreds.

Mahinder Singh Dhoni is the captain of the Indian team. Unfortunately Dhoni has not measured up to the task of test match captain. He has shown a lack of flair and imagination. Basically the quality of an astute leader has eluded him. Another factor doing the rounds is the approach of Shewag in the team which is led by Dhoni.

Shewag is the vice captain of the team and it appears that he is at loggerheads with Dhoni on a number of matters from team strategy to selection. With Dhoni having come a cropper with a plethora of defeats, there is talk of a replacement for him. Many names are doing the rounds with Shewag being at the top of the list.

The question that begets an answer is as to how good is Shewag and is he the right man to don the Cap of the Indian test captain? The answer to this lies in Shewags qualities as a leader. An example is the last teat against Australia, where Dhoni had to sit out as a penality for slow over rate in the earloer test. This was a chance for Shewag to show his leadership qualities. However Shewag cut a sorry figure ad the Indian skipper. Knowledgable critics oplned that his bowling changes and field placing left much to be desired. He also showed complete lack of imagination in controlling the Aussies. Needless to add that India lost the test match by 298 runs.

Sunil Gavaskar has oplned that Shewag is unfit to lead India. Perhaps Sunil's observation is not without foundation. Even his stint as captain of Delhi in the Ranji Trophy and his captaincy in the IPL has shown Shewag as a poor leader. Thus making Shewag as captain may well mean putting the clock back in Indian cricket. India and the board may be better off with a new captain, but Shewag does not fit the bill.