MUMBAI: Former Australia captain Steve Waugh was chosen as the Greatest Of All Time (G.O.A.T) among Test captains of the 21st century through a poll conducted by Star Sports during the ICC World Test Championship final.
Waugh, who captained Australia in 57 Tests and won 41, surpassed the likes of superstar Virat Kohli, Graeme Smith and his own countrymate Ricky Ponting for the title. Meanwhile, South Africa legend Jacques Kallis was chosen as the greatest all-rounder in Tests since the turn of the millennium.
Kallis, who notched up 13,289 runs at an impeccable average of 55.37 and picked 292 wickets, set a high benchmark for all-rounders across the globe. One of the finest players to have graced the cricket field, the all-rounder left behind players like Ben Stokes, Andrew Flintoff and Ravichandran Ashwin.
Speaking on Star Sports' show 'Cricket Live', during the ICC WTC final, former Team India batting coach Sanjay Bangar picked Steve Waugh as the Greatest Test captain of the 21st century.
"If as leaders, you have the opportunity to actually dictate the way the culture of the team is and the outcomes that the team derives, then, in that case, all of them (nominees) were in quest of excellence. So is Virat, I do not doubt that he'll end up being probably captaining more than any other captain in the history of the game, but that's in the future. As far as those numbers are concerned, I have opted for Steve Waugh, because winning 15 or 16 Test matches on the trot, is a phenomenal feat. Yes, everybody else has tasted that success. But for me, it has to be Steve Waugh," said Bangar.
Speaking on the same platform, former Indian batsman VVS Laxman picked Jacques Kallis as the Greatest Of All Time all-rounder of the 21st century in Test cricket.
"It's a very simple take here because he (Jacques Kallis) is just a fabulous player. He was a contender in the GOAT batsman category and then, when you see, in the bowling category, he has more than 200 wickets and then in the slips, like Shane mentioned, to take so many catches and so many match & series-winning performance. I have heard so many stories from Sunny Bhai and all those great players about Gary Sobers. So, in my generation the players who I've played against or who I saw -- I think he (Jacques Kallis) is equal to Gary Sobers. He is just a phenomenal cricketer," said Laxman.
To celebrate historic feats in Test cricket, Star Sports strung together a mammoth activity to pick the Greatest Of All Time (G.O.A.T) of the 21st century in Tests from among Batsmen, Bowlers, All-rounders and Captains. The winners were chosen by an elite 50-member jury, which comprised of legends of the game like Sunil Gavaskar, Ian Bishop, Harbhajan Singh, Shane Watson, Scott Styris, among others, renowned sports journalists and coaches.
Final list of winners
GOAT Batsman: Sachin Tendulkar
GOAT Bowler: Muttiah Muralitharan
GOAT Captain: Steve Waugh
GOAT All-rounder: Jacques Kallis