Indian Cricket team captain Virat Kohli recently announced that he is going to step down as India’s T20 Captain after the 2021 T20 World Cup. Moreover, he also announced that he will step down as the captain of RCB after the 2021 IPL. These announcements have come amidst the record he recently made, when he became the first cricketer to play 200 IPL matches for a single franchise. In that light, let us have a look at the captains of the Indian cricket team over the years, who took Indian cricket to new heights.
Crux of the Matter
Captains In The T20 Format
Virendra Sehwag (2006) was the first T20 capatain. Under him India played one match and won that.
Successful captains in this format:
MS Dhoni (2007-16): Played 72 matches and won 41 out of them. It was under Dhoni’s captaincy that India won the inaugural World T20 Championship by beating Pakistan in the finals.
Virat Kohli (2017-21): Played 45 matches and won 27 out of them.
Rohit Sharma (2017-2020): Played 19 matches and won 14 out of them.
Captains In ODI Format
Ajit Laxman Wadekar (1974) was the first ODI captain. Under him Indis played 2 matches and lost them both.
Successful captains in this format:
Kapil Dev (1982-1987): Played 74 matches and won 39 out of them. Under him, India won its first Cricket World Cup title in 1983.
Mohammad Azharuddin (1990-1999): Played 174 matches and won 90 out of them.
Sourav Ganguly (1999-2005): Played 146 matches and won 76 out of them.
Rahul Dravid (2000-2007): Played 79 matches and won 42 out of them.
MS Dhoni (2007-2018): Played 200 matches and won 110 out of them. Dhoni is the only cricket captain to win all three ICC trophies (2007 T20 World Cup, 2011 ODI World Cup, 2013 Champions Trophy).
Virat Kohli (2013-present): Played 95 matches and won 65 out of them.
Captains In Test Format
C K Nayudu (1932-34) was the first captain in the test format. Under him India played 4 matches and lost 3 while 1 match was draw.
Successful captains in this format:
Sourav Ganguly (2000-2005): Played 49 matches out of which India won 21 matches and 15 matches were draw.
MS Dhoni (2008-2014): Played 60 matches out of which India won 27 matches and 15 matches were draw.
Virat Kohli (2014-present): Played 65 matches out of which India won 38 matches and 11 matches were draw.
Kohli Stepping Down, A Tendulkar Deja Vu
Sachin Tendulkar stepped down from the captaincy in 2000.
I hated losing and as captain of the team I felt responsible for the string of miserable performances.
Sachin Tendulkar in his Autobiography Playing it My Way
India’s stats under his captaincy:
ODI: Played 73 matches out of which India won 23 and lost 43 while 1 match was a tie.
Test: Played 25 matches out of which India won 4 and lost 9 while 12 matches were a draw.
India’s win rate under Kohli in all 3 formats is one of the best till date amongst captains who have played minimum 20 matches.
Kohli’s win rates:
T20 – 65.11%.
ODI– 70.43%.
Test– 58.46%.
Curiopedia
Kapil Dev was nicknamed the Haryana Hurricane, while Rahul Dravid was called Jammy as his father worked for Kissan, a Jam making company.