Who is the better Captain? Strauss or Dhoni?

[Dhonisgland]

I don't think it's remotely appropriate to use the Windies defeat against Strauss, given the situation he found himself in, as interim captain of a broken team. It bears zero relevance to assessing his captaincy.

I pretty much agree with the rest of your post, though. I've not voted and I think often a good way to judge captains is when they face off.

What is interesting is that both captains tend to get a lot of stick from their own fans during matches but when all is said and done their decisions normally come off. It's easier to be an armchair critic and demand extra slips, quicker declarations, etc, but it would be fair to describe both as pragmatists.

EDIT - Turns out I did vote, for Strauss. Well, you know me, if all else fails vote for the Englishman

Excuses. Always excuses with you.

 

[subshakerz]

Strauss is a good captain, Dhoni is a great captain.

You get the impression that Strauss is an effective man manager, tactically sound but unspectacular, and efficient enough to get his team to play to their potential without fuss.

Dhoni is all that but more. He's created a whole new positive team dynamic with less resources IMO. The most impressive achievement for Dhoni is that he has gauged his team's abilities so well that he understands how to maximize their potential. India's No.1 status has little to do with the team which is not very different to teams under Dravid and Kumble, but more to do with Dhoni's leadership.

 

[Spark]

Spark, hasn't Dhoni produced basically the same results as Strauss for a longer period (3 yrs as opposed to 2)? Admittedly, he hasn't an away series win against a really top opposition like Strauss does.

More or less, yes, but he had a much stronger base to work with. In the end it's not much to choose between them but I'd probably side with Strauss right now.

 

[ankitj]

Did you know?

Among captains who have led in at least 25 Tests, Dhoni has the best win-to-loss ratio (5:1) ahead of Steve Waugh (4.55:1) and Mike Brearley (4.5:1)

All bow to the great man

 

[Bonnie Prince C]

Really not sure who I would pick. I think Strauss is far from an excellent captain but with Dhoni he has such a good squad you question how much captaincy skill is actually required.