List of India's Test match captains
Over Inda’s 82-year-long Test history, as many as 32 cricketers have captained India. Here’s a complete list of all those cricketers who went on to lead the country in Test cricket:
(This article is co-written by Pradeep Kalamegam and Shankar Narayan)
C.K.Nayudu (1932-1934)
India played their first ever Test match under the leadership of C.K.Nayudu against England at Lord’s. Not surprisingly, the home side got the better of India by 158 runs. The man also led India during a 4-match Test series against England on home soil, managing a solitary draw at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, in 1934.
Maharajkumar of Vizianagram (1936)
Better known as Vizzy, the Maharajkumar of Vizianagram led India in three Tests in England, losing twice and drawing once.
Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi (1946)
Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi, the father of Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, captained India in three Tests in England. The senior Pataudi, who also represented England in Test cricket, didn’t have too successful a time, drawing two Tests while losing one.
Lala Amarnath (1947-1952)
Lala Amarnath captained India in 15 Tests between 1947 and 1952, and under him, India won two Tests, lost six and drew the other seven.
Vijay Hazare (1951-1953)
Vijay Hazare led India in 14 Tests, and he will always have a special place in India's cricketing history as he was the captain when India won their first ever Test against England at Chennai in 1952.
Vinoo Mankad (1955-1959)
Under Mankad, India toured Pakistan for the first time in 1954/55. However, the series turned out to be a dull affair as all 5 matches of the series against the arch-rivals failed to produce a winner.
Ghulam Ahmed (1955-1959)
India played New Zealand for the first time in 1955/56 under the captaincy of off-spinner Ghulam Ahmed, thereby also becoming the first specialist bowler to captain India.
Polly Umrigar (1955-1958)
Umrigar took over the Indian captaincy from the second Test of the 1955/56 series against New Zealand and subsequently guided India to a series win. He was also at the helm of affairs when Australia visited India in 1956/57. India lost the series 2-0.
Hemu Adhikari (1959)
Adhikari was one of the four captains used by India against the touring West Indians in the 1958-59 five-match series. India lost the series 3-0 with Adhikari managing a rare stalemate against a rampaging West Indies outfit.
Datta Gaekwad (1959)
The Baroda batsman led India in 4 of the 5 Tests in England, 1959, losing all of them.
Pankaj Roy (1959)
The Bengal cricketer had to fill in for Gaekwad as he missed the Lord’s Test of the 1959 series with an injury, and he didn’t have much fortune as India ended up being thrashed by 8 wickets.
Gulabrai Ramchand (1959-1960)
Ramchand was the Indian captain during the series against Australia in 1959/60 on home soil and led India to their first-ever win against the Aussies.
Nari Contractor (1960-1962)
Contractor led India to their first-ever series win against England in 1961/62, winning 2 and drawing 3 matches. He had previously captained in a series against Pakistan (1960/61) at home, where all 5 matches failed to produce a result.
Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi (1962-1975)
It would be fair to say that it was MAK Pataudi who taught India how to win overseas as India overcame the Kiwi challenge in 1967/68 to register their first series win away from home under his captaincy. He is widely credited as one of the greatest captains India has ever had, with him having instilled the belief within the side to fight back from tough situations and take the game to the opposition.
His 13-year-long captaincy tenure started off with India losing 3-0 to the West Indies at home. After earning a draw in all five matches against England in 1963/64, Pataudi’s next assignment produced a 1-1 draw against Australia (1964/65).
A 1-0 series victory at home against New Zealand (1964/65) was followed by humiliating whitewashes against England and Australia in their own backyard. As mentioned earlier, the tables were turned Down Under. Yet, his overall record of 9 wins from 40 Tests did not reflect the enormity of the contribution he made for Indian cricket.
Interestingly, Pataudi was only 21 when he took over the captaincy reigns and had a permanently damaged vision on his right eye owing to a car accident barely months before his appointment as the captain.
Chandu Borde (1967)
Borde got to lead India in a Test match in the absence MAK Pataudi in Australia, 1967. India lost the match by 146 runs.
Ajit Wadekar (1971-1974)
Wadekar’s side scripted history by winning their first-ever Test series in West Indies and England in the 1971 season. The Indians won a match each in the two series and played out the remaining matches for stalemates. However, the captain’s successful run came to an end with a 3-0 loss at home at the hands of England.
Srinivas Venkataraghavan (1974-1979)
A member of the famous Indian spin quartet, S Venkataraghavan captained India in 5 Test matches between 1974 and 1979.
Sunil Gavaskar (1976-1985)
The legendary Indian opener had two captaincy stints between 1976 and 1985 as the leadership changed hands between Kapil Dev and himself. Having won his very first match as captain in New Zealand in 1975/76, Gavaskar had a largely successful spell at captaincy, winning 4 and drawing 3 series out of the 11 he led in.
Failing to tame neighbours Pakistan in two back-to-back tours in 1982/83 and 1984/85 and a home series loss against England, however, ended his tenure. Overall, out of 47 Tests, the opening batsman won 9 and lost 8 as captain.
Bishan Singh Bedi (1976-1978)
Another member of the spin quartet, the left-arm spinner held on to the captaincy for 22 Tests before Gavaskar took over the team in 1978 as the full-time captain. Out of those 22 matches, Bedi won 6 and lost 11. The highlight of Bedi’s stint was the two wins he registered in Australia, despite ultimately losing the five-match series 3-2.
A defeat at the hands of Pakistan brought an end to the bowler’s leadership duties.
Gundappa Vishwanath (1980)
The talented batsman captained India in only two Test matches including the 1980 Golden Jubilee Test against England in Mumbai. Being someone who always wanted to play the game in the right spirit, he recalled Bob Taylor after the umpire wrongly adjudged the batsman caught behind.
The wicketkeeper was then involved in a game-changing partnership with Ian Botham that turned the historic match decisively in England’s favour.
Kapil Dev (1982-1987)
The World Cup winning captain led India in 34 Tests between 1982 and 1986. His biggest victory as Indian captain came on the 1986 tour of England where he led India to a famous 2-0 win over England in their own backyard. However, 23 of those 34 Tests finished in draws while only four were won in all.
Dilip Vengsarkar (1987-1989)
Following India’s semi-final exit in the 1987 World Cup, Dilip Vengsarkar took over the captaincy reigns from Kapil Dev. Under him, India played 10 Tests, winning 2 of them, drawing 3 and losing 5.
Ravi Shastri (1987)
With regular skipper Dilip Vengsarkar out due to injury, Ravi Shastri captained India in the final Test of the four-match series against the West Indies in Chennai. That Test will forever be remembered for Narendra Hirwani’s 16-wicket haul on Test debut, which ensured that India beat them by 255 runs. Incidentally, this was the only time Shastri captained India in Tests.
Krishnamachari Srikkanth (1989)
Krishnamachari Srikkanth captained India in the 4 Tests that were played against Pakistan in Pakistan in 1989, but he couldn’t win even a single Test. All the four Tests ended in draws. He, however, will always be remembered as the captain under whom Sachin Tendulkar made his international debut.
Mohammad Azharuddin (1990- 1998)
One of the longest serving Indian captains ever, Mohammad Azharuddin led India in 47 Tests between 1990 and 1998. India won 14, lost 14 and drew 19 Tests in that period.
Sachin Tendulkar (1996-2000)
Sachin Tendulkar won almost every trophy that there is to win during his illustrious career. However, even he would admit that the phase where he captained the country was by far the lowest point of his career. He led India in 25 Tests, out of which only 4 were won, 9 lost and 12 drawn.
Sourav Ganguly (2000-2005)
Perhaps India’s best captain in their history, Sourav Ganguly led India in 49 Tests, winning 21, losing 13 and drawing 15. Under him, the overseas record of the Indians improved tremendously, and he was the captain during the iconic 2001 home series win against Australia.
Rahul Dravid (2003-2007)
Rahul Dravid led the country in 25 Tests, out of which 8 were won, 6 were lost and the rest drawn. He led India to a Test series win in the West Indies in 2006 and also led them to a Test series win in England in 2007. He was also the captain when India won their first ever Test in South Africa in 2006.
Virender Sehwag (2005-2012)
Virender Sehwag captained India in 4 Tests, winning 2, losing 1 and drawing the other.
Anil Kumble (2007-2008)
Following the resignation of Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble was appointed as Indian Test captain. Kumble led admirably in his short tenure, captaining India to a 1-0 home series win over Pakistan. He also led India to an emotional win over Australia in the third Test at Perth in 2008, after the controversial monkey-gate incident in Sydney. Overall, he led India in 14 Tests - winning 3, losing 5 and drawing 6.
MS Dhoni (2008-
MS Dhoni replaced Anil Kumble as Test captain in 2008. Dhoni has led India in 59 Tests so far, winning 27 of them, losing 18 and drawing 14. He is India’s most successful captain in terms of the number of Tests won, and he took his side to the No. 1 position in Tests back in 2009. He also led India to a 4-0 whitewash against Australia at home last year. However, he will be hoping to improve his abysmal overseas record in time to come.
Virat Kohli (2014)
In the absence of regular skipper MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli led India very well in the first Test of the four-match Test series against Australia last week but was unfortunate to succumb to defeat by 48 runs.