"Imran Khan, After That...": Sanjay Manjrekar's Choice Of Top Cricket Captains Is Fascinating
From Kapil Dev to Imran Khan to Arjuna Ranatunga to MS Dhoni, several captains from the Indian sub-continent went on to become legends
- Imran Khan is ranked as the top cricket captain by Sanjay Manjrekar
- "(No. 1 captain) – I would rank Imran Khan from the days gone by, and after that, MS Dhoni," Manjrekar said
- "Dhoni even took, maybe, an average or sometimes inexperienced team—like in the 2007 T20 WC—and won," he added
Among the cricket captains who showed the world how a leader can make a difference, many came from the subcontinent. From Kapil Dev to Imran Khan to Arjuna Ranatunga to MS Dhoni, several captains from the region went on to become legends. Many of them were world champions too, with the most recent being Rohit Sharma, who led India to triumph at the 2024 T20 World Cup. Recently, Sanjay Manjrekar gave an interesting take on who he thinks is the best captain.
"Who would you rank right on top?" the anchor asked.
"(No. 1 captain) – I would rank Imran Khan from the days gone by, and after that, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, for what he was able to do as a captain. I thought he single-handedly raised the bar for the team and even took, maybe, an average or sometimes inexperienced team—like in the 2007 T20 World Cup—and led them to titles,” Sanjay Manjrekar said on Stalin Mathias' YouTube channel.
“And I think he was different when it came to performances on the big stage. He played the final just like he would play one of the earlier league matches. I think the moment—the whole pressure of the big finals—can get to a lot of players and definitely to some captains as well. MS was different in that regard.”
Sanjay Manjrekar also lauded Virat Kohli's mentality during the 2014 Australia tour.
“(Mentality monster) Virat Kohli, for me, is at the top. Indian cricket has had greats who were mentally strong but not demonstrative—it was not always obvious to see. They all had their aggression: Sunil Gavaskar, Tendulkar, and Kapil Dev. But it was not that visible. Virat Kohli was one of the first guys I saw who showed it openly, and that was during the 2014 trip to Australia after a difficult tour of England. He went to Australia and got four hundreds. I remember him taking on the Australian players head-on—giving it back to them verbally—and he walked the talk as well.”
MS Dhoni
India Cricket Team
Pakistan Cricket Team