Indian Test Captains -- 1932-Till date
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Served as captain: 1932-34
Nayudu was the first captain of the Indian cricket team in Tests. He played first-class cricket regularly till 1958, and returned for one last time in 1963 at the age of 68. Of the 7 Tests he played, he scored 350 runs at an average of 25.00 with 81 being the highest. He also took 9 wickets with 3 for 40 being the best.
| Played | Won | Lost | Drawn |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
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Served as captain: 1936
After his miserable tenure as captain, Maharaja of Vizianagaram made a comeback as a cricket administrator and was president of BCCI from 1954-57
| Played | Won | Lost | Drawn |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
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Served as captain: 1946
Pataudi was actually appointed captain for the India tour of England in 1936, but withdrew at the last moment, ostensibly on health grounds. He finally played for India when he captained the tour to England in 1946. His captaincy was also criticised. He was Indian Cricket Cricketer of the Year in 1946/47.
| Played | Won | Lost | Drawn |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
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Served as captain: 1947-53
Lala Amarnath was the first cricketer to score a Test century for the Indian cricket team, which he achieved on his debut. He was also independent India's first Test captain, leading the team on a tour of Australia in 1947-1948.
| Played | Won | Lost | Drawn |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | 2 | 6 | 7 |
Served as captain: 1951-53
Hazare captained the Indian cricket team in 14 matches between 1951 and 1953. In India's 25th Test match, nearly 20 years after India achieved Test status, he led India to its first ever Test cricket win (and the only victory under his captaincy) in 1951–52 against England cricket team at Madras, winning by an innings and eight runs.
| Played | Won | Lost | Drawn |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | 1 | 5 | 8 |
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Served as captain: 1954-59
Vinoo Mankad was best known for his world record setting opening partnership of 413 runs, with Pankaj Roy, in 1956, a record that stood for 52 years. In his 44 Tests, he has scored 2109 runs besides taking 162 wickets. He is one of the three cricketers to have batted in every position, from the first to the last, during his Test career.
| Played | Won | Lost | Drawn |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
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Served as captain: 1955-59
Ghulam Ahmed played first-class cricket for Hyderabad from 1939-40 to 1958-59, and 22 Tests for India from 1948-49 to 1958-59. He toured England in 1952 and Pakistan in 1954-55. He captained India in one Test against New Zealand in 1955-56, which was drawn, and two Tests against West Indies in 1958-59, both of which India lost.
| Played | Won | Lost | Drawn |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
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Served as captain: 1955-59
Polly Umrigar played mainly as a middle-order batsman but also bowled occasional medium pace and off-spin. He captained the Indian team in eight Test matches from 1955 to 1958. When he retired in 1962, he had played in more Tests (59), scored more Test runs (3,631), and recorded more Test centuries (12), than any other Indian player. He scored the first double century by an Indian in Test cricket against New Zealand in Hyderabad.
| Played | Won | Lost | Drawn |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
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Served as captain: 1958-59
Adhikari had some fine moments playing for India, including a national record 109-run last wicket partnership with Ghulam Ahmed in a Test against rivals Pakistan. He captained India in one Test as he neared his fortieth birthday, scoring 63 and 40 while batting and taking three important wickets in a drawn game against the West Indies.
| Played | Won | Lost | Drawn |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
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Served as captain: 1959
Datta Gaekwad appeared in 11 Test matches, toured England in 1952 and 1959 and West Indies in 1952-53. He captained the Indian team in the 1959 tour. As a batsman Gaekwad "possessed a sure defence and delightfully crisp shots especially through the covers". He was also an occasional leg spin bowler
| Played | Won | Lost | Drawn |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
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Served as captain: 1959
Pankaj Roy was a right-handed opening batsman, best known for establishing the world record opening partnership of 413 runs, together with Vinoo Mankad, against New Zealand at Chennai. The record stood until 2008. He was honoured with the Padma Shri. His nephew Ambar Roy and son Pranab Roy also played Test cricket for India.
| Played | Won | Lost | Drawn |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
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Served as captain: 1959-60
Gulabrai Ramchand was the captain when India defeated Australia in his only series as captain. He was a powerfully built man and hard hitting right hand batsman. His medium pace bowling was memorably described by Sujit Mukherjee that Ramchand 'looked every bit a fast bowler, till he actually bowled.
| Played | Won | Lost | Drawn |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
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Served as captain: 1960-62
Contractor led India to a series win against England in 1961–62 and captained the side to West Indies the same season. There, in the match against Barbados, his attention was momentarily distracted as he faced Charlie Griffith: "It was as Griffith was to deliver the fourth ball of his second over that somebody opened a window in the pavilion. There were no sight screen at that time and my 100 per cent concentration wasn’t on that delivery. I saw it just inches away before it hit me. But it isn’t true that I ducked." His career abruptly ended after that injury.
| Played | Won | Lost | Drawn |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | 2 | 2 | 8 |
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Served as captain: 1961-75
M.A.K. Pataudi nicknamed Tiger Pataudi was captain of the Indian cricket team in 40 of his 46 matches, only 9 of which resulted in victory for his team, with 19 defeats and 19 draws. His victories included India's first ever Test match win overseas against New Zealand in 1968. India went on to win that series, making it India's first ever Test series win overseas. He lost the captaincy of the Indian cricket team for the tour to the West Indies in 1970-1, and did not play Tests from 1970 to 1972.
| Played | Won | Lost | Drawn |
|---|---|---|---|
| 40 | 9 | 19 | 12 |
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Served as captain: 1967-68
Borde played a key part in India's first victory over England in the Fourth Test played in Eden Gardens, Kolkata, scoring two half centuries (68 and 61) and taking 3 wickets in the First Test. In the next Test in Madras, India won again with Borde taking five wickets. Borde captained the Indian team in the First Test against Australia at the Adelaide Oval in December 1967. The Nawab of Pataudi resumed his position as captain in the next match.
| Played | Won | Lost | Drawn |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
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Served as captain: 1970-74
Wadekar was appointed captain of the Indian cricket team in 1971, leading a side that included players like Sunil Gavaskar, Gundappa Viswanath, Farokh Engineer, and the Indian spin quartet that included Bishen Bedi, E.A.S. Prasanna, Bhagwat Chandrasekhar and Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan. He became the first Indian captain to achieve overseas wins while touring the West Indies and England in 1971. India won over five matches in the West Indies in the early 1970s, and then defeated England over three. He led India to a third successive series victory, beating England cricket team again, 2–1 in a five-match series in 1972–73.
| Played | Won | Lost | Drawn |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | 4 | 4 | 8 |
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Served as captain: 1974-75 and 1979
Venkataraghavan captained India in both the 1975 and 1979 World Cup competitions. He also led India in a four-Test series against England in 1979. In domestic cricket, he led South Zone and Tamil Nadu for over a decade. Venkat retired from first-class cricket in 1985. He became a cricket administrator and managed the Indian Test side. He was honoured with the Padma Shri in 2003. He later became an umpire on the elite International Cricket Council Test panel.
| Played | Won | Lost | Drawn |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
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Served as captain: 1975-1985
Sunil Gavaskar was captain of the Indian team on several occasions in the late 1970s and early 1980s, although his record is less than impressive. Often equipped with unpenetrative bowling attacks he tended to use conservative tactics which resulted in a large number of draws. During his tenure, Kapil Dev emerged as a leading pace bowler for the country. He captained India to nine victories and eight losses, but most of the games were drawn, 30.
| Played | Won | Lost | Drawn |
|---|---|---|---|
| 47 | 9 | 8 | 30 |
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Served as captain: 1975-79
Bishen Singh Bedi was appointed captain of India in 1976, succeeding Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi. His first Test victory as captain was against the West Indies at Port-of-Spain in the 3rd Test of the 1976 series in which India scored a then-record 406 in the fourth innings. This was followed up by a 2–0 series victory over New Zealand at home. However, after successive Test series losses to England (3–1 at home), Australia (3–2 away) and Pakistan (2–0 away), he was replaced as captain by Sunil Gavaskar.
| Played | Won | Lost | Drawn |
|---|---|---|---|
| 22 | 6 | 11 | 5 |
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Served as captain: 1979-80
Gundappa Viswanath had a brief stint as the Indian captain in 1979–80. In the two Tests he captained, one was drawn and one was lost, the latter being the Golden Jubilee Test against England. Throughout his career, Viswanath was renowned for his sense of fair-play, and particularly in this match he recalled Bob Taylor to the crease after the umpire had already given him out. Taylor went on to score some vital runs for England helping them to win the match
| Played | Won | Lost | Drawn |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
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Served as captain: 1982-87
Kapil Dev was appointed India's captain in the 1982–83 season against Sri Lanka (before the Pakistan tour) when Gavaskar was rested. His first assignment as regular captain was the tour of West Indies, where the biggest accomplishment was a lone ODI victory. After the World Cup victory in 1983, India was decimated by the West Indians. Kapil was reappointed captain in March 1985, and guided India on a Test series win over England on their tour in 1986. Kapil was retained as captain for the 1987 Cricket World Cup in which India lost the semifinals match to England.
| Played | Won | Lost | Drawn |
|---|---|---|---|
| 34 | 4 | 7 | 23 |
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Served as captain: 1987-89
Vengsarkar took over the captaincy from Kapil Dev after the 1987 Cricket World Cup, despite criticism that he missed the semi-final match due to a stomach disorder resulting from sea food allergy. Although he started with two centuries in his first series as captain, his captaincy period was turbulent and he lost the job following a disastrous tour of the West Indies in early 1989 and a stand-off with the Indian cricket board (BCCI).
| Played | Won | Lost | Drawn |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 2 | 5 | 3 |
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Served as captain: 1987-88
The highlight of his career was when he was elected Champion of Champions in the World Championship of Cricket in Australia in 1985. In the same season, he equalled West Indian Garry Sobers's record of hitting six sixes in an over in first class cricket. He was regarded as a potential captain, but his image outside cricket, injuries and tendency to lose form at crucial times meant that he captained India in only one Test match.
| Played | Won | Lost | Drawn |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
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Served as captain: 1989
Srikkanth was made the captain of the Indian team in 1989. He remained the captain of the team for India's tour of Pakistan in 1989 and managed to draw all the four Tests of the series. But the selectors were disappointed with his batting failures and dropped him. He returned two years later and played for another year before being dropped again. He retired from international cricket in 1993. He was the first Indian player to score a half-century and pick up 5 wickets in an ODI. He achieved this feat against New Zealand at Vishakapatnam in 1988.
| Played | Won | Lost | Drawn |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
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Served as captain: 1989-99
Azharuddin quickly gained international fame by scoring 3 test centuries in the first 3 test matches he played. Azharuddin was captain of the Indian team for most of the 1990s. He has been one of India's most successful captains, winning 90 ODIs. Later this achievement was surpassed by M.S. Dhoni on 2 September 2014 against England overtaking him as the most successful Indian ODI captain. His 14 test match wins as captain was a record until it was bettered by then Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly with 21 test match wins.
| Played | Won | Lost | Drawn |
|---|---|---|---|
| 47 | 14 | 14 | 19 |
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Served as captain: 1996-2000
Tendulkar's tenures as captain of the Indian cricket team were not very successful. When Tendulkar took over as captain in 1996, it was with huge hopes and expectations. Tendulkar, succeeding Azharuddin as captain for his second term, led India on a tour of Australia, where the visitors were beaten 3–0 by the newly crowned world champions. After another Test series defeat, this time by a 0–2 margin at home against South Africa, Tendulkar resigned.
| Played | Won | Lost | Drawn |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | 4 | 9 | 12 |
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Served as captain: 2000-2006
In 2000, after the match fixing scandal by some of the players of the team, Sourav Ganguly was named the Captain of the Indian cricket team. The decision was spurred due to Tendulkar stepping down from the position for his health, and Ganguly being the vice-captain at that time. He began well as a captain, leading India to a series win over South Africa in the five-match one day series and led the Indian team to the finals of the 2000 ICC knock-out Trophy. In the 49 Tests he captained, he won 21 of them with 11 came abroad and lost 13
| Played | Won | Lost | Drawn |
|---|---|---|---|
| 49 | 21 | 13 | 15 |
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Served as captain: 2003-2007
Rahul Dravid was only the second Indian cricketer, after Tendulkar to score 10,000 runs both in Tests and in ODIs. In the 25 Tests, he had captained, he won 8 and lost 6. One of Dravid's most debated decisions was taken in March 2004, when he was standing in as the captain for injured Sourav Ganguly. India's first innings was declared at a point when Sachin Tendulkar was at 194 runs with 16 overs remaining on Day 2. Rahul Dravid has had a mixed record when leading India in Tests
| Played | Won | Lost | Drawn |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | 8 | 6 | 11 |
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Served as captain: 2005-12
Virender Sehwag was appointed as vice-captain of the Indian team under Rahul Dravid in October 2005 but due to poor form, he was later replaced by V.V.S. Laxman. During his term as vice-captain, Sehwag skippered the team in place of injured Dravid in 2 ODIs and 1 Test. He attracted some criticism at the end of 2005, having failed to pass 50 in four Tests against Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka. He also missed the Second Test against Sri Lanka in Delhi due to illness, but returned to the team in the following match in Ahmedabad and captained the Indians to victory whilst Rahul Dravid was ill
| Played | Won | Lost | Drawn |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
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Served as captain: 2007-08
Kumble was appointed as the captain of the Indian Test cricket team on 8 November 2007. He succeeded his state team mate Rahul Dravid, who resigned as the captain in September 2007. He is the only leg spinner who have become the captain of the team. His first series as captain of Indian Test team was a three-match series against Pakistan played in India which the team won by 1–0. Off the 14 Tests he captained India won 3 (2 away victories) and lost 5.Kumble was selected as the Indian Cricket Cricketer of the Year in 1993 and one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year three years later
| Played | Won | Lost | Drawn |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | 3 | 5 | 6 |
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Served as captain: 2008-15
M.S. Dhoni made his debut as full-time Test captain of India during the fourth and final Test against Australia at Nagpur in November 2008 replacing Anil Kumble. India eventually won that Test thus clinching the series 2–0 and retained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Dhoni had previously captained India on a stand-in basis against South Africa and Australia in 2008 and 2009 respectively. In March 2013, Dhoni became the most successful Indian Test captain when he eclipsed Sourav Ganguly’s record of 21 victories from 49 Tests.
| Played | Won | Lost | Drawn |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60 | 27 | 18 | 15 |
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Served as captain: 2014-till date
For the first Test of the Australian tour, Dhoni was not part of the Indian team at Adelaide due to an injury, and Virat Kohli took the reins as Test captain for the first time. Dhoni announced his retirement from Test cricket and Kohli was appointed as the full-time Test captain ahead of the fourth Test at Sydney. Captaining the Test team for the second time, Kohli hit 147 in the first innings of the match and became the first batsman in Test cricket history to score three hundreds in his first three innings as Test captain.
| Played | Won | Lost | Drawn |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
