Cricket: To be the captain of the Indian Cricket Team

For most of us, the word "captain" is synonymous to qualities and powers that we would all like to possess.

Whether it's the authority, the glamour, the position, the attention or for that matter anything else, most of us would like to have them.

However, the term "captain" is much more than all of that. It is this "other side" that makes it that much more challenging, tough, and even (at least for some) troublesome.

When I say the "other side," I refer to the responsibilities, the blames, the expectations that come with the job and, therefore, as soon as you have that "C" written against your name, the world becomes a different place. Whether that is good or bad is another matter altogether.

Captaincy in cricket, like in other sports, is a hot issue, and more often than not invites some kind of debate. However, no team sport in the world comes near to cricket when it comes to the topics -- captain and captaincy.

The two terms are related, but then they may not have a direct relation to each other simply because of the "luck" factor and also the "team" factor.

The "luck" factor may prove a good captain's captaincy wrong, whereas on the other hand, it may prove a bad captain's captaincy to be the right one.

As far as the "team" factor goes, one could only put forward the famous quote that says -- "A captain is only as good as his team."

In Cricket, both the "luck," as well as the "team" factor play big roles and that's what makes the job the toughest in the business. In fact, the famous Australian leg-spinner and now commentator, Richie Benaud, once said that captaincy in cricket is 10 percent luck and 90 percent skill, but dare not try it without the 10 percent.

Therefore, undoubtedly, captaincy in cricket is a tough job.

But, wait a minute, because there is one job that is tougher yet, and that happens to belong to the individual who captains the Indian Cricket Team.

The passion for cricket in India is unbelievable and, therefore, the Indian public and the Indian media expect a hell of a lot from their cricket team and more so from their cricket captain.

In fact, the toughest and the hottest position in India, after that of the Prime Minister, is that of the Indian Cricket Team's captain.

The captain's position in Indian cricket is like a crown of thorns, where all the bad things accompany all the good things. That is what makes it such a tricky position.

The captain, if he does well, is given the status of a demigod, but if god forbidden, he does badly, then he gets all the flak and becomes some kind of a national villain.

Really, it is this strange romanticism of the Indian public with the whole issue of captaincy that puts tremendous pressure on the Indian captain.

Thus, the job of an Indian captain is both enviable, and unenviable, depending upon the kind of performances the team gives under him.

As a captain, if you are successful, you will be respected and everyone would praise you, but when you fail, the same people would ask for your head, and the media would look for every opportunity to tear you to pieces.

So as a captain, if you expect a bed of roses, then be prepared for a path of fire as well.

The Indian cricket captains' troubles start right from the time he goes out for the toss at the beginning of a match. Now, in cricket a toss means more than just a formality, as most times a toss can be crucial to the outcome of a match and, therefore, if by sheer hard luck the Indian captain loses a crucial toss in a crucial match, the consequences can be tough. The captain's luck may go for a ride as people start to argue as to how unlucky the captain is.

However, it's not that easy even if the captain manages to win the toss, because then he may have to take a tricky decision on a tricky wicket and again, if he gets it wrong, he gets all the flak. So, whichever way the toss goes, it still is a problem for the captain, even though his decision represents the decision taken by the whole team.

The next trouble that an Indian captain faces is his own team.

The Indians are famous, or should I say infamous, for doing things absolutely against expectations. So as a captain, you might be making all the right kind of strategies and plans with your team inside the dressing room, but all those plans may go straight out of the window as soon as the game starts. Then you may yell until you are hoarse giving explanations and reasons for the defeat, but at the end it would be you who would be getting all the flak for bad captaincy rather than those who were assigned to do the job.

Unfortunately, the Indian public is very intolerant towards defeats and, therefore, any defeat can give rise to an uproar, and on most occasions it is the captain who has to face it. This is exactly how the "team" factor works, as managing an Indian team can be a tedious task than managing a global company.

The pressures on an Indian captain are tremendous, with the weight of expectations and responsibilities huge. Cricket in India is the biggest sport, and to say that it is high profile would be an under statement. Even small moves made by cricketers come under scrutiny and more so when you are the Captain. The media is always behind you and the public wants you to win all the time.

Lots of passion and emotion is attached to every game that the Indian team plays, and at the center of all this hype, euphoria and fanaticism is the one man who is in the hot seat -- the captain of the Indian cricket team.

Surely, being a captain was never as difficult!