The Indian cricket team has become one of the top units in all formats of the sport. India is the only nation to have won the 20-over, 50-over and 60-over Cricket World Cups. Over the years, some great captains have led the Indian cricket team and taken it to newer heights.
Many fans consider MS Dhoni as the greatest Indian captain of all time. Under his leadership, the Indian cricket team reached the number one position in the ICC Test Rankings, won the 2011 Cricket World Cup, became the inaugural winners of the ICC T20 World Cup and also won the ICC Champions Trophy in 2013.
There have been many other players who captained India, albeit for a short time. And under some of them, the Indian cricket team never lost a match in a particular format. In this listicle today, we will have a look at six such captains.
1. Indian cricket team never lost an ODI under Gautam Gambhir
Gautam Gambhir was the top-scorer for the Indian team in the 2011 Cricket World Cup Final match against Sri Lanka. The former Indian opener was a great captain as well, as he led the Kolkata Knight Riders to the IPL championship in 2012 and 2014.
Gambhir got an opportunity to captain India in six ODI matches. The Indian team defeated New Zealand 5-0 under Gambhir’s captaincy in the year 2010. In December 2011, India beat West Indies by 34 runs in an ODI match under Gambhir’s leadership.
2. Ravi Shastri (Test)
Ravi Shastri is the coach of the Indian cricket team at the moment. He was one of the top all-rounders in India during his playing days.
Shastri captained India in Test cricket once in a Test match against West Indies at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. India defeated West Indies by 255 runs in that game.
3. Indian cricket team is yet to lose a Test or a ODI under Ajinkya Rahane
Current Indian Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane is the only active player on this list. Interestingly, Rahane has an unbeaten record as captain in Tests as well as ODIs.
Under his captaincy in Tests, India has registered four wins and a draw in five matches. In the ODI format, India won all three matches played under Rahane’s leadership.
4. Virender Sehwag (T20I)
Virender Sehwag captained Team India in all three formats of the game. However, he could only have an undefeated record in the shortest format of the sport.
Sehwag led India in their first ever T20I match against the South African cricket team. The Men in Blue defeated the Proteas in what was Sehwag’s only T20I match as captain.
5. Anil Kumble (ODI)
Many fans would remember that Anil Kumble was once India’s captain in Tests. However, not all would know that Kumble captained India in ODIs during a series against England in 2002.
Chennai hosted the 3rd ODI of the series. Playing under Kumble’s captaincy, India emerged victorious by four wickets. That 6-match series ended in a draw 3-3.
6. Indian cricket team never lost a T20I match under Suresh Raina
Suresh Raina captained India in three T20I matches. Two of them were against Zimbabwe in 2010 and the last one was against the West Indies team in 2011.
India emerged victorious in all three matches. In fact, Raina was the Man of the Match in the 2nd T20I as captain. He scored 72 runs against Zimbabwe.
