Mohammad Azharuddin
Azharuddin remained captain of the Indian team for most of the 1990s. He even led India in three consecutive World Cups in 1992, 1996 & 1999. Before Sourav Ganguly, Azhar was known as the most successful Indian captain.
To majority of the Indian fans, Azhar looked to be a quiet man and his critics took the opportunity to troll him a lucky captain. But it’s his record as captain which speaks of his calibre and leadership skills. Richie Benaud once said while speaking about a perfect captain, “The hallmark of a great captain is the ability to win the toss, at the right time”. Well, Azhar obviously had the knack of winning the toss. In facts in the 50 over format he had the highest toss win percentage (for players who have captained their teams in more than 100 ODIs); he won 96 tosses in the 174 matches which he led the Indian team.
But due to his poor form and the rise of Sachin Tendulkar ultimately took away the captaincy from him in 1996 but he came back to lead India once again in 1997. However, allegations of match-fixing cut short his dramatic comeback and he was even banned by the BCCI in 2000. BCCI lifted the ban imposed on him in 2006 but it was too late for Azhar to consider thoughts of comeback.