Captains of the Indian Cricket Team: Complete List of All-Time Leaders

Captain of Indian cricket team

Rohit Sharma is the Indian cricket team captain (Men), whereas, Harmanpreet Kaur is the current Women’s Indian cricket team captain for all formats. Read on to learn more about the stats of the Captain of the Indian Cricket Team. Find the list of Indian Captains of one-day cricket teams, test matches, and T20 series, in this article.

Captain Of Indian Cricket Team: Men

Rohit Sharma is the current captain of Indian Cricket Team for test, One-Day International (ODI), and Twenty20 International cricket (T20) teams.

Indian Cricket Test Match Captain

Rohit Sharma was named full-time captain of India in the red-ball format after Virat Kohli, India’s most successful Test captain, resigned in a surprise move following India’s test series loss to South Africa in January 2022.

Rohit is India’s first-choice test opener, and his outstanding performance deserves a spot on the ICC’s Test Team of the Year 2021. His latest win as test match captain came against Sri Lanka during the 2nd test in Bengaluru on March 14. According to his Test match records, Rohit has 3137 runs in 45 Tests, averaging 46.13.

One-Day International Captain (ODI)

In January 2022, the All-India Senior Selection Committee named Rohit Sharma India’s full-time ODI captain. Rohit Sharma has led India in 13 ODIs since taking over as captain for the first time on December 10, 2017, against Sri Lanka in Dharamsala.

In 13 ODIs as captain, Rohit Sharma has scored 714 runs at an average of 59.5. Rohit scored those runs with a double century, a century, and four half-centuries, demonstrating that captaincy is not a burden on him.

Indian Cricket T20 Match Captain

Rohit also led India in a T20I as captain for the first time against Sri Lanka in 2017, clinching the series 3-0. After taking over as India’s full-time captain in limited-overs cricket in November 2021, Rohit led India to a 3-0 victory over New Zealand.

As T20I captain, Rohit has scored 11 fifties and 2 centuries in 45 T20Is. Rohit has made 1489 runs as captain at an average of 36.31.

Test your Cricket Knowledge on Trump Cards Mania and win up to Rs.10 Lakhs! Click the “Download App” button.

Take a look at this video to learn how to play cricket card games online & Win real money:

Download and Play cricket games online

Captain of Indian Cricket Team: Women

Harmanpreet Kaur is the present captain of the One-Day International, and Smriti Mandhana is the captain of the T20I teams.

Indian Cricket Test Match Captain

The current Indian women’s test cricket team captain is Harmanpreet Kaur. She also leads India for the third consecutive time in ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2023. Smriti Mandhana is acting as her deputy in the T20 World Cup.

One-Day International Captain (ODI)

Harmanpreet Kaur is the current captain of India’s women’s One-Day International cricket team. Kaur led India to a 2-1 series victory over Sri Lanka after taking over as ODI captain in June 2022. Kaur has an exceptional ODI record and has only lost one ODI match as captain.

Harmanpreet, who surpassed former captain Mithali Raj to become India’s leading run-scorer in the shortest format in June, is India’s middle-order mainstay. In 11 ODI matches as captain, Kaur has scored 585 runs at an average of 97.50, including 2 centuries and 3 half-centuries. As ODI captain, she has also taken 4 wickets.

Indian Cricket T20 Match Captain

Harmanpreet Kaur is the current captain of India’s women’s Twenty20 International cricket team. In 80 T20I matches as captain, Kaur has scored 1717 runs at an average of 30.12, including one century and six half-centuries. As T20I captain, she has also taken 19 wickets.

Indian Cricket Team Captain: Test Series

The first captain of the Indian cricket team (Men’s test series) was C.K. Nayudu, Maharajkumar of Vizianagram, and Nawab of Pataudi. Whereas, the first captain of the Indian cricket team (Women’s test series) was Shantha Rangaswamy, followed by Nilima Jogalekar and Diana Edulji.

Men’s Test Match Cricket Captain (1932-2023)

Here is the list of all the Indian Men cricket team captains for the test series (1932-2023):

Cricket PlayerSpanWonLostWin Percentage
CK Nayudu1932-1934030
Vizianagram1936-1936020
Nawab of Pataudi1946-1946010
L Amarnath1947-19522625
VS Hazare1951-19531516.66
MH Mankad1955-1959010
Ghulam Ahmed1955-1959020
PR Umrigar1955-19582250
HR Adhikari1959-195900
DK Gaekwad1959-1959040
P Roy1959-1959010
GS Ramchand1959-19601233.33
NJ Contractor1960-19622250
MAK Pataudi1962-197591932.14
CG Borde1967-1967010
AL Wadekar1971-19744450
S Venkataraghavan1974-1979020
SM Gavaskar1976-19859852.94
BS Bedi1976-197861135.29
GR Viswanath1980-1980010
N Kapil Dev1983-19874737.5
DB Vengsarkar1987-19892528.57
RJ Shastri1988-198810100
K Srikkanth1989-198900
M Azharuddin1990-1999141450
SR Tendulkar1996-20004930.76
SC Ganguly2000-2005211361.76
R Dravid2003-20078657.14
V Sehwag2005-20122166.66
A Kumble2007-20083537.5
MS Dhoni2008-2014271860
V Kohli2014-2022401770.17
AM Rahane2017-202140100
KL Rahul2022-20222166.66
RG Sharma2022-20234180
JJ Bumrah2022-2022010

Women’s Test Match Cricket Captain (2002-2021)

Here is the list of all the Indian Women’s cricket team captains for the test series (2004-2023):

Cricket Player SpanWonLost
Shantha Rangaswamy1976-198412
Nilima Jogalekar 1984-198500
Diana Edulji 1984-198600
Shubhangi Kulkarni1986-199101
Sandhya Agarwal 1990-199101
Purnima Rau1994-199601
Pramila Bhatt1995-199601
Chanderkanta Kaul199901
Anjum Chopra 2001-20021
Mamatha Maden 2003-200400
Mithali Raj 2005-202131

Indian Cricket Team Captain: ODI Match

The first captain of the Indian cricket team (Men’s ODI match) was Ajit Wadekar, followed by Srinivas Venkataraghavan, and Bishan Singh Bedi. Whereas, the first captain of the Indian cricket team (Women’s ODI match) was Shanthan Rangaswamy, followed by Diana Edulji, and Shubhangi Kulkarni.

Men’s ODI Cricket Captain (1974-2023)

Here is the list of all the Indian Men’s cricket team captains for the ODI matches (1974-2023):

Cricket player Span Won Lost  Win Percentage
AL Wadekar1974-1974020
S Venkataraghavan1975-19791614.28
BS Bedi1976-19781325
SM Gavaskar1980-1985142140
GR Viswanath1981-1981010
N Kapil Dev1982-1987393354.16
SMH Kirmani1983-1983010
M Amarnath1984-198400
RJ Shastri1987-19914736.36
DB Vengsarkar1987-198981044.44
K Srikkanth1989-19894833.33
M Azharuddin1990-1999907654.16
SR Tendulkar1996-2000234335.07
A Jadeja1998-19998561.53
SC Ganguly1999-2005766553.9
R Dravid2000-2007423356
A Kumble2002-200210100
V Sehwag2003-20127558.33
MS Dhoni2007-20181107459.52
SK Raina2010-20146554.54
G Gambhir2010-201160100
V Kohli2013-2021652770.43
AM Rahane2015-201530100
RG Sharma2017-202319773.07
S Dhawan2021-20227370
KL Rahul2022-20224357.14
HH Pandya2023-202310100

Women’s ODI Cricket Captain (1976-2023)

Here is the list of all the Indian Women’s cricket team captains for the ODI matches (1976-2023):

Cricket PlayerSpanWonLostWin Percentage
DF Edulji1978-199371138.88
S Rangaswamy1982-198441225
S Kulkarni1986-1986010
P Rau1995-19955362.5
KS Bhatt1995-19975178.57
C Kaul1999-19993175
A Jain2000-20005362.5
A Chopra2002-2012101737.03
M Maben2003-200414573.68
M Raj2004-2022896358.55
J Goswami2008-2011121348
R Dhar2008-2008010
H Kaur2013-202210190.9

Test your Cricket Knowledge on Trump Cards Mania and win up to Rs.10 Lakhs! Click “Download App” button.

Indian Cricket Team Captain: T20 series

The first captain of the Indian cricket team (Men’s T20 match) was Sourav Ganguly, followed by MS Dhoni, and SK Raina. Whereas, the first captain of the Indian cricket team (Women’s ODI match) was Mithali Raj, followed by J Goswami, and A Chopra.

Men’s T20 Cricket Captain (2005-2023)

Here is the list of all the Indian Men’s cricket team captains for the T20 matches (2005-2023):

Cricket PlayerSpanWonLost%
V Sehwag2006-200610100
MS Dhoni2007-2016412859.28
SK Raina2010-201130100
AM Rahane2015-20151150
V Kohli2017-2021301664.58
RG Sharma2017-2022391276.47
S Dhawan2021-20211233.33
RR Pant2022-20222250
HH Pandya2022-20238277.27
KL Rahul2022-202210100

Women’s T20 Cricket Captain (2006-2023)

Here is the list of all the Indian Women’s cricket team captains for the T20 matches (2006-2023):

Cricket PlayerSpanWonLost%
M Raj2006-2016171553.12
J Goswami2008-201581044.44
A Chopra2012-20123730
H Kaur2012-2023543759.23
S Mandhana2019-20236554.54

First Captain Of The Indian Cricket Team

For the test series, C. K. Nayudu was the first captain of the Indian cricket team, whereas Shantha Rangaswamy led the Indian women’s cricket team for the first time in 1976. For the ODI format, Ajit Wadekar (Men’s cricket) and Diana Edulji (Women’s cricket) were the first captains of the Indian cricket team. Virender Sehwag (Men’s cricket) and Mithali Raj (Women’s cricket) were the first captains of the Indian cricket team for the T20I format.

Let’s look at their stats as captains of the Indian cricket team.

Test Match Indian Cricket Captain

C. K. Nayudu is the first captain of the Indian cricket team (Test cricket). He was a legendary all-rounder and is regarded as one of India’s earliest cricketing greats. In 1932, he led India in their first-ever Test at Lord’s.

Nayudu was also one of India’s better performers on the day, and despite suffering a hand injury, he scored 40 runs, making him the team’s highest run-scorer. Nayudu remained their best player despite never leading India to a Test victory.

Shantha Rangaswamy led the Indian women’s cricket team for the first time in 1976. She was India’s first international centurion and captain to win a Test match. Rangaswamy always took the initiative and is remembered for her aggressive batting nature. She was also a fantastic inswing bowler.

In February 2017, Rangaswamy was the first Indian woman cricketer to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award for Women from the BCCI. Rangaswamy scored 710 runs in 12 Test matches as captain, including one century and six half-centuries.

ODI Match Indian Cricket Captain

Ajit Wadekar was the Indian men’s cricket team’s first ODI captain. On July 13 1974, he led team India as captain in their maiden ODI against England at Leeds. He played only two matches captaining the side, scoring 67 runs. India, sadly, lost both of them.

1971 India made history by winning its first-ever Test series against England and the West Indies under his leadership. Wadekar is also one of three Indians to have served as a test player, captain, coach/manager, and Chairman of Selectors. He received the Arjuna Award in 1967 and the Padma Shri in 1972.

Diana Edulji is the first captain of the Indian cricket team in women’s cricket and is easily one of the biggest names in women’s cricket in India. She was also the former Indian women’s test cricket team captain. She led the Indian team in two World Cups (1978 and 1993). Edulji is one of the best ‘lady’ spinners of all time. She received many prestigious awards like Arjun Award and Padma Shree.

T20 Match Indian Cricket Captain

Virender Sehwag holds the distinction of being the first T20I captain of the Indian men’s cricket team. In the absence of senior players and leaders from the Indian team, such as Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid, who were unwilling to play T20I cricket late in their careers and preferred to focus on longer formats, the team management was forced to select a new captain for an entirely new format.

Ultimately, they made Virender Sehwag the first Indian captain in T20 international cricket when he was asked to lead against South Africa. That particular outing was Sehwag’s only game as T20I national team captain, scoring 34 runs and leading to victory.

Mithali Raj was the first Indian women’s cricket captain. She is distinguished in captaining India in most ODI and T20 matches. Mithali Raj has emerged as one of the country’s best batting exports in terms of technique and consistency. She has several achievements and is widely regarded as the record-holder in Indian women’s cricket.

She has also received the Arjuna Award and the Padma Shri. As T20 captain, she has scored 841 runs at an average of 35.04 in 32 matches, including five half-centuries.

India has had a prestigious journey to becoming one of the best cricketing teams in the world, thanks to the captains and players who contributed to this success. We hope this guide has provided enough information for anyone interested in learning who was and who is in charge of leading the Indian cricket team across all international formats.

Did you know you can now play cricket trump cards on Zupee?

Trump Cards Mania by Zupee is a 2-player game, where each player gets 11 cards with all-time top 100 IPL batsmen. Select the cricket stat to challenge your opponent. The higher stat wins the round and the player who earns the maximum points wins the game. Besides, you can also stand a CHANCE TO WIN 10 lakhs!

Captain of the Indian cricket team: FAQs

Who is the Indian cricket team captain now?

Rohit Sharma is the current captain of the Indian men’s cricket team for the Test series, ODI, and T20I. For the women’s cricket team, Harmanpreet Kaur is the captain for ODI and T20 formats.

Who is the youngest captain of the Indian cricket team in T20Is?

Suresh Raina (23 years and 197 days old) is the youngest captain of the Indian cricket team in T20Is.

Who have been the most successful Indian cricket captains?

Kapil Dev, Sourav Ganguly, MS Dhoni, and Virat Kohli are some of India’s most successful captains.

Who was the first captain of the Indian cricket team post-independence?

Lala Amarnath was independent India’s first test cricket captain.

How many times does the cricket captain change?

No such limitation rule is associated with the change in leadership of the Indian cricket team captain across all formats, both men’s and women’s international cricket.

During the 1932 to 1990 cricketing era, there were times when two, three, or four captains were appointed in a five-match series. However, from 1990 to the present, there has been some consistency, and every captain of the Indian team has had long runs, with some even being retained after defeats.

Who decides the Indian Cricket Team captain, and on what basis?

The captain of the Indian cricket team is chosen by two groups of selectors, the All India Senior Selection Committee and the BCCI (The Board of Control for Cricket in India) Selection Committee. Both committees decide which personality will lead the Indian cricket team.

Usually, the best player in terms of cricketing ability is chosen as captain of the Indian team. But now, selectors have begun to appoint smart players with sharp cricketing brains as captains, who can motivate their players and lead them for long periods. As of now, this policy has paid rich dividends over the last two decades.