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India’s captains at World Cup: MS Dhoni is one of the most successful Indian skippers at the World Cup

Come June 5th, Virat Kohli will become the seventh Indian captain to lead his country in the cricket World Cup.

ms dhoni and kohli

Bengaluru, May 9: Come June 5th, Virat Kohli will become the seventh Indian captain to lead his country in the cricket World Cup.

Six Indians have led their side in the past 11 editions of the tournament held since 1975 with Mohammad Azharuddin leading in the most number of editions (three) and matches (23).

However, in terms of success rate, Mahendra Singh Dhoni is at the top with 14 wins out of 17 games he led in the 2011 and 2015 editions with a win percentage of 82.35. He lost two games while one was tied (against England in 2011).

Ganguly captained India to win 9 out of 11 matches

Ganguly captained India to win 9 out of 11 matches

The second most successful captain is Sourav Ganguly. The former southpaw led India in one edition (2003) but led his side to win nine out of 11 games with a success percentage of 81.81. Both the games that he lost as a captain in the WC were against Australia, including the final of the same edition.

Kapil Dev led India to win 11 out of 15 games

Kapil Dev led India to win 11 out of 15 games

India’s third-most successful captain at the WC is the legendary Kapil Dev. The ‘Haryana Hurricane’ had led India to their maiden world title win in 1983 to change the course of the game in the country for ever. Kapil led India in two World Cups (1983 and 1987) and out of the 15 matches he captained, India won 11 and lost four (73.33 success percentage).

Azhar led India to 10 wins in 23 games

Azhar led India to 10 wins in 23 games

Next comes Azharuddin who could win 10 out of the 23 matches that he led at the World Cup while he lost 12 and one was abandoned (against Sri Lanka in 1992). Azhar’s win percentage is an ordinary 43.47 per cent.

Rahul Dravid could lead India to 1 win in 3 games

Rahul Dravid could lead India to 1 win in 3 games

One of the two Indian captains who did the worst at the WC is the great Rahul Dravid. The man had led the Men in Blue in the 2007 edition in the West Indies but started with a loss against Bangladesh which almost ended their run in the tournament. India also lost to Sri Lanka and could beat only Bermuda. With one win in three games, Dravid’s WC success rate as captain stands at 33.33 per cent.

Venkataraghavan did worst with 1 win out of 6 games

Venkataraghavan did worst with 1 win out of 6 games

The captain who had fared most pathetically was Srinivas Venkataraghavan, the spinner who played only 15 ODIs in his career. He led India in the 1975 and 1979 editions of the WC and on both occasions, India were walloped almost by everybody, including a low-ranked Sri Lanka. In six games that Venkataraghavan had led in the two editions, India could win only one and that was against East Africa. Venkat’s success rate hence stood at a paltry 16.66 percent.

Story first published: Thursday, May 9, 2019, 17:23 [IST]
Other articles published on May 9, 2019