Overseas Test records of India's last 5 full-time captains
There is a saying in cricket "a captain is as good as his team", but, in the context of Indian Test cricket "a captain is as good as his overseas record". Indian team has an excellent record in home conditions and it has hardly changed over the period of time. Since almost all the captains have an excellent record at home- it is hardly a differentiating factor to judge their performance.
To judge the performance of an Indian Test captain often his overseas record is looked at. Historically, Indians have been poor tourists. There is not much glory that India has achieved as far as their overseas record is concerned, still, there are certain captains who have inspired their team towards better performance than others.
Let's take a look at the overseas records of the last five Indian Test captains (with at least 10 Test matches as captain abroad) and see if we can infer who has been the best overseas:
#5 Virat Kohli
A lot of questions have been raised about the ability of Virat Kohli as a captain. Inconsistent selection and some not so great on-field decisions have raised the doubts about his calibre as a captain. India lost their last two overseas series' comprehensively against England and South Africa under his leadership.
India has played 21 Tests outside India under Kohli's leadership. Out of these 21 Tests, India has won 9 Tests, which translates into a winning percentage of 43%.
#4 MS Dhoni
Dhoni was a great captain under Indian conditions, his ability to use spinners was remarkable. Having said that, he had a dismal overseas record. India hardly won anything overseas under his leadership.
India played 30 Tests outside India under Dhoni's leadership. Out of these 30 Tests, India won a meagre 6 Tests, which translates into a poor winning percentage of 20%.