5 Greatest Run-Scorers Who Failed As Captains Ft. Joe Root, AB de Villiers

Joe Root (R) & AB de Villiers (Source: AFP Photos)

In cricket, some players make headlines by scoring a plethora of runs year after year. However, they fail to deliver as a captain when given the opportunity, bringing unwanted attention to themselves.

Here, in this article, let’s take a look at five such cricketers who failed to deliver as captain for the county despite scoring a bulk of runs across formats.

List Of Greatest Run-Scorers Who Failed As Captains

Joe Root

One of the finest batters England have ever produced, Joe Root leads the chart of England’s top run-getters across formats. He has aggregated 22545 runs over Tests, ODIs and T20Is, the most by anyone from their country.

Sir Alastair Cook and Kevin Pietersen sit in second and third places, with 15737 runs and 13779 runs respectively.

However, Root, as England captain, has not been so impressive. In 65 matches, he has won only 41.53 per cent, securing 27 wins. To give context, Eoin Morgan is England’s most successful captain ever, with a win percentage of 59.59 after 198 matches. He had won 118 of them.

[Joe Root As England Captain In Tests, ODIs & T20Is, as of June 23, 2026]

AB de Villiers

With 19864 international runs, AB de Villiers is the second-highest run-getter for South Africa, only after Jacques Kallis (25422).

However, despite having one of the strongest squads in their country’s history, he failed to help them win any major ICC trophy, keeping the infamous ‘chokers’ tag intact.

[AB de Villiers As South Africa Captain In Tests, ODIs & T20Is, as of June 23, 2026]

Babar Azam

Babar Azam holds the record for the fifth-highest run scorer for Pakistan in international cricket, having made 15703 runs in 350 matches. Even though Inzamam-ul-Haq, Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf and Javed Miandad are ahead of him, he might eventually become the highest run-getter ever for Pakistan in the near future, given that he is only 31 years old.

However, even though Babar has captained Pakistan in the third-highest number of matches, after Imran Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq, he failed to live up when it mattered. He had a golden chance in the T20 World Cup 2022, only to fail in the final against England.

[Babar Azam As Pakistan Captain In Tests, ODIs & T20Is, as of June 23, 2026]

Stephen Fleming

Only behind Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor, Stephen Fleming is the third-highest run scorer for New Zealand, with 15289 runs. However, he failed to live up to the expectations as a leader.

Fleming’s only achievement as a New Zealand captain was winning the ICC Knockout Trophy in 2000, defeating Sourav Ganguly’s India in the final. Not to forget, Fleming leads the chart of captaining New Zealand the most number of times, way ahead of Williamson (206) and Daniel Vettori (142).

[Stephen Fleming As New Zealand Captain In Tests, ODIs & T20Is, as of June 23, 2026]

Sachin Tendulkar

The biggest disappointment in this chart is Sachin Tendulkar, the greatest batter in the sport by country miles, but he failed as a captain. In fact, the captaincy record was so poor that he had to quit the role.

[Sachin Tendulkar As India Captain In Tests, ODIs & T20Is, as of June 23, 2026]

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