UPSC Prelims 2008 Q124: Current Affairs – Cricket

UPSC Prelims 2008, General Studies Paper I · Current Affairs

Who among the following has been the Captain of the Indian team in Cricket Test Matches for the maximum number of times?

Answer: (c) Saurav Ganguly

Explanation

Who captained the Indian cricket team the most times in Tests

Among these notable former captains, one led the Indian Test team more often than the others, as of this question's time.

Option	Verdict	Reason
(a) Sunil Gavaskar	Incorrect	A notable captain, but not the one with the maximum Test captaincies among these four
(b) Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi	Incorrect	Also a notable captain, but fewer Test captaincies than the correct answer
(c) Saurav Ganguly	Correct	Saurav Ganguly had captained India in Test matches more times than the others listed, as of this question's time
(d) Mohammad Azharuddin	Incorrect	Also captained frequently, but fewer times than Ganguly

Test captaincy facts (at the time):

Point	Detail
Most Test captaincies (among these four)	Saurav Ganguly
Sport	Cricket

Answer: (c) Saurav Ganguly.

(a) Incorrect. Gavaskar captained fewer Tests than Ganguly.
(b) Incorrect. Pataudi also captained fewer Tests than Ganguly.
(c) CORRECT. Saurav Ganguly had the maximum Test captaincies among these four, at the time.
(d) Incorrect. Azharuddin also captained fewer Tests than Ganguly.

As of this question's time, Saurav Ganguly had captained the Indian Test team more times than Gavaskar, Pataudi, or Azharuddin.

Saurav Ganguly captained the Indian Test team the maximum number of times among these four.

Assuming an earlier, legendary captain (Gavaskar, Pataudi) automatically held the record for most captaincies.
Confusing Azharuddin's frequent captaincy tenure with Ganguly's even greater total.
Not having the specific Test captaincy counts for each of these players at the time.

As of this question's era, Saurav Ganguly held the record for most Test captaincies among Indian cricketers listed here.