Gautam Gambhir has said that Anil Kumble is the best captain he played under in the Indian cricket team. The former opener, speaking to Star Sports, said that Kumble would have “broken a lot of records” had he got the opportunity to lead the Indian team for longer.

During his 13 years in international cricket, Gambhir played for India under a number of captains. He started his career at the biggest stage with Sourav Ganguly at the helm, before playing under Rahul Dravid, Kumble, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and finally Virat Kohli.

According to Gambhir, who retired from all forms of cricket in 2018, it was Kumble who was most impressive as captain. “MS Dhoni, in terms of records, is right up there but yes, for me the best captain I’ve played under is Kumble,” he said.

“Sourav has done really well. One captain that I would have definitely wanted to captain India for a long time is Kumble. I played six Test matches under him probably; he didn’t captain India for that long. Had he captained India for a long time, he would have broken a lot of records,” added Gambhir, who has led Kolkata Knight Riders to two Indian Premier League titles.

“From the records point of view it obviously has to be Dhoni. He has won every ICC trophy possible. He has done fabulously well, he has handled the pressure for a very long time. Sourav (Ganguly) has also done well [too],” Gambhir said.

Kumble got India’s captaincy in the twilight of his career. He took over from Dravid in Tests in 2007, with a young Dhoni leading India in One-Day Internationals and T20Is. The legendary leg-spinner was a captain in 14 Tests, with India winning three of those matches, drawing five and losing six.

Kumble’s stint as captain lasted little less than a year as he retired in November 2008, following which Dhoni was appointed as the skipper in all three formats.

Gambhir also picked Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma as the all-time great IPL captain.

“I think it’s Rohit Sharma . He has won the IPL four times and his captaincy is all about winning trophies,” he said. “He will end up being the most successful IPL captains of all-time as well, probably he will finish with six or seven titles under his belt.”

(With PTI inputs)