But the great right-handed batsman also believes Brendon McCullum was the natural choice for New Zealand captain.
Crowe, who was in Dunedin yesterday to promote his autobiography, Raw, which deals with his battle with cancer and offers some thoughts on cricket, has mentored Taylor since 2006.
They are close, and Crowe was deeply saddened by the way New Zealand Cricket (NZC) handled Taylor's demotion late last year. He went as far as saying it had had a negative impact on his battle with lymphoma.
Crowe was diagnosed with the blood disease eight months ago. Happily, he is in remission. His book deals with how he faced his inner demons and found the strength to fight the disease.
But there is also a chapter devoted to the captaincy merits of Taylor and McCullum.
Crowe said he was confused when McCullum was dropped as vice-captain in late 2009, and thought the showdown between Taylor and McCullum, when Daniel Vettori stood down as captain in 2011, was unseemly and again poorly handled by the national body.
''I talk a lot about why the hell was he [McCullum] even removed from the vice-captaincy and why wasn't he captain automatically.
''Ross Taylor was reluctant about going into the vice-captaincy, but after doing it for 18 months felt he was ready to take over the captaincy.
''NZC decided to put them head-to-head and that was not healthy and must have created a huge amount of resentment within Brendon. No-one knows why he was removed. I don't understand it.
''If he hadn't been removed we wouldn't have been through any of this. But NZC, through poor leadership and governance, allowed that to happen. They treated two of our finest players appallingly.''
Crowe believes both players have plenty to offer as captain but ''Brendon is the most experienced and he should have always been skipper''.
Crowe is also critical of the amount of power which has been vested in Black Caps coach Mike Hesson. He feels the coach should be left to get on with coaching rather than also selecting the side.
''There were no selectors in the dressing room when I played. The coach wasn't a selector. He was, in fact, someone you could confide in, trust, and rely on to help get you ready.
''It worked very well. I played in an era where we were unbeaten at home for 12 years. It worked but we've never gone back to it.
''These days, the coach is the selector . . . and I just don't know how it works, unless you are really experienced like an Andy Flower or a Gary Kirsten.
''There is only one team to play for. There are not 29 other franchises that you can play for if you don't like the coach or the coach doesn't like you. If communication lines aren't smooth, then what do you do? That is your career gone.''
Crowe plans to take a break from cricket while he focuses on his health. It was time to let go, he said, and he would not be turning on the television to watch the Black Caps at the Champions Trophy.
He believes not being able to express his emotions or let go of criticism made him unhealthy. Cricket, while it had given him so much, had also been a ''rocky journey, fraught with hardship and pain,'' he wrote.
''There are other things I can think about and focus on. I got boxed in by cricket . . . and that is not healthy when you do that.''
