This is the list of captains of Indian cricket team who have led the team in at least one international cricket match. A captain is the appointed leader of the team, having several additional roles and responsibilities over and above those of the other players. As in other sports, the captain is usually experienced and has good communication skills and is likely to be one of the most regular members of the team, as the captain is responsible for the team selection. Before the starting of the game in cricket, the captains toss which decides which team will bat first. During the match the captain decides the team's batting order, who will bowl each over, and where each fielder will be positioned.

Cricket was introduced to the Indian subcontinent by the English in the 17th and 18th centuries. Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is the national governing body of cricket in India. The BCCI was established on 1 December 1928 at Madras and joined the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1926 which later became the International Cricket Council. The captains of the national teams are appointed by BCCI and the India national cricket team selectors appointed by BCCI choose the other players for the national teams.

On 25 June 1932, India became the sixth nation to play test cricket and the men's cricket team was led by C. K. Nayudu against England at Lord's. Nayudu led India in the first international cricket match held in India on 15 December 1933 when Gymkhana Ground in Bombay hosted the only match during England's tour of India. Vijay Hazare led India to its first win in fifth test of home series against England on 10 February 1952 at M. A. Chidambaram Stadium in Madras. Ajit Wadekar led India in its first ever ODI on 13 July 1974 at Leeds against England. On 1 December 2006, Virender Sehwag captained India in its first T20 International against South Africa at Johannesberg.

Shantha Rangaswamy led the women's team in their first women's test match against West Indies at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium at Bangalore on 31 October 1976. Diana Edulji led India in its first WODI during the 1978 Women's Cricket World Cup against England on 1 January 1978 at Eden Gardens in Calcutta. Mithali Raj captained India in the first WT20I on 5 August 2006 against England at Derby.

Krishnamachari Srikkanth was the captain for the first youth test for India U-19 team against Pakistan U-19 which began on 20 January 1979 at Wankhede Stadium in Bombay while Ravi Shastri captained India U-19 in the first youth ODI in 1981 against England U-19.

Shubman Gill is the current captain of the men's team in Test & ODI, Shreyas Iyer is the captain of the men's team in T20Is, and Harmanpreet Kaur is current captain of women's team in all Formats.

Men's Test

This is a list of cricketers who have captained the Indian men's cricket team for at least one Test match. A dagger (†) indicates that the player captained at least one Test in the series as a stand-in for the appointed captain or was appointed by the home authority for a proportion in a series.

38 players have captained India in men's test matches, of which Virat Kohli is the most successful with 40 wins.

Indian Test match captains Number Image Name Season Opposition Location Played Won Lost Drawn/Tied Win % 1 C. K. Nayudu 1932 England England 1 0 1 0 1933–34 England India 3 0 2 1 Total 4 0 3 1 0.00 2 Maharajkumar of Vizianagram 1936 England England 3 0 2 1 Total 3 0 2 1 0.00 3 Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi 1946 England England 3 0 1 2 Total 3 0 1 2 0.00 4 Lala Amarnath 1947–48 Australia Australia 5 0 4 1 1948–49 West Indies India 5 0 1 4 1952–53 Pakistan India 5 3 1 2 Total 15 3 6 7 20 5 Vijay Hazare 1951–52 England India 5 1 1 3 1952 England England 4 0 3 1 1952–53 West Indies West Indies 5 0 1 4 Total 14 1 5 8 7.14 6 Vinoo Mankad 1954–55 Pakistan Pakistan 5 0 0 5 1958–59† West Indies India 1 0 1 0 Total 6 0 1 5 0.00 7 Ghulam Ahmed 1955–56† New Zealand India 1 0 0 1 1958–59 West Indies India 2 0 2 0 Total 3 0 2 1 0.00 8 Polly Umrigar 1955–56 New Zealand India 4 2 0 2 1956–57 Australia India 3 0 2 1 1958–59† West Indies India 1 0 0 1 Total 8 2 2 4 25.00 9 Hemu Adhikari 1958–59† West Indies India 1 0 0 1 Total 1 0 0 1 0.00 10 Datta Gaekwad 1959 England England 4 0 4 0 Total 4 0 4 0 0.00 11 Pankaj Roy 1959† England England 1 0 1 0 Total 1 0 1 0 0.00 12 Gulabrai Ramchand 1959–60 Australia India 5 1 2 2 Total 5 1 2 2 20.00 13 Nari Contractor 1960–61 Pakistan India 5 0 0 5 1961–62 England India 5 2 0 3 1961–62† West Indies West Indies 2 0 2 0 Total 12 2 2 8 16.67 14 Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi 1961–62 West Indies West Indies 3 0 3 0 1963–64 England India 5 0 0 5 1964–65 Australia India 3 1 1 1 1964–65 New Zealand India 4 1 0 3 1966–67 West Indies India 3 0 2 1 1967 England England 3 0 3 0 1967–68 Australia Australia 3 0 3 0 1967–68 New Zealand New Zealand 4 3 1 0 1969–70 New Zealand India 3 1 1 1 1969–70 Australia India 5 1 3 1 1974–75 West Indies India 4 2 2 0 Total 40 9 19 12 22.50 15 Chandu Borde 1967–68† Australia Australia 1 0 1 0 Total 1 0 1 0 0.00 16 Ajit Wadekar 1970–71 West Indies West Indies 5 1 0 4 1971 England England 3 1 0 2 1972–73 England India 5 2 1 2 1974 England England 3 0 3 0 Total 16 4 4 8 25.00 17 Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan 1974–75† West Indies India 1 0 1 0 1979 England England 4 0 1 3 Total 5 0 2 3 0.00 18 Sunil Gavaskar 1975–76† New Zealand New Zealand 1 1 0 0 1978–79 West Indies India 6 1 0 5 1979–80 Australia India 6 2 0 4 1979–80 Pakistan India 5 2 0 3 1980–81 Australia Australia 3 1 1 1 1980–81 New Zealand New Zealand 3 0 1 2 1981–82 England India 6 1 0 5 1982 England England 3 0 1 2 1982–83 Sri Lanka India 1 0 0 1 1982–83 Pakistan Pakistan 6 0 3 3 1984–85 Pakistan Pakistan 2 0 0 2 1984–85 England India 5 1 2 2 Total 47 9 8 30 19.14 19 Bishan Singh Bedi 1975–76 New Zealand New Zealand 2 0 1 1 1975–76 West Indies West Indies 4 1 2 1 1976–77 New Zealand India 3 2 0 1 1976–77 England India 5 1 3 1 1977–78 Australia Australia 5 2 3 0 1978–79 Pakistan Pakistan 3 0 2 1 Total 22 6 11 5 27.27 20 Gundappa Viswanath 1979–80† Pakistan India 1 0 0 1 1979–80 England India 1 0 1 0 Total 2 0 1 1 0.00 21 Kapil Dev 1982–83 West Indies West Indies 5 0 2 3 1983–84 Pakistan India 3 0 0 3 1983–84 West Indies India 6 0 3 3 1985 Sri Lanka Sri Lanka 3 0 1 2 1985–86 Australia Australia 3 0 0 3 1986 England England 3 2 0 1 1986–87 Australia India 3 0 0 2 1986–87 Sri Lanka India 3 2 0 1 1986–87 Pakistan India 5 0 1 4 Total 34 4 7 23 11.76 22 Dilip Vengsarkar 1987–88 West Indies India 3 0 1 2 1988–89 New Zealand India 3 2 1 0 1988–89 West Indies West Indies 4 0 3 1 Total 10 2 5 3 20.00 23 Ravi Shastri 1987–88† West Indies India 1 1 0 0 Total 1 1 0 0 100.00 24 Krishnamachari Srikkanth 1989–90 Pakistan Pakistan 4 0 0 4 Total 4 0 0 4 0.00 25 Mohammad Azharuddin 1989–90 New Zealand New Zealand 3 012 1990 England England 3 012 1990–91 Sri Lanka India 1 1 0 0 1991–92 Australia Australia 5 041 1992–93 Zimbabwe Zimbabwe 1 0 0 1 1992–93 South Africa South Africa 4 0 1 3 1992–93 England India 3 3 0 0 1992–93 Zimbabwe India 1 1 0 0 1993 Sri Lanka Sri Lanka 3 1 0 2 1993–94 Sri Lanka India 3 3 0 0 1993–94 New Zealand New Zealand 1 001 1994–95 West Indies India 3 111 1995–96 New Zealand India 3 1 0 2 1996 England England 3 0 1 2 1997–98 Australia India 3 2 1 0 1998–99 Zimbabwe Zimbabwe 1 0 1 0 1998–99 New Zealand New Zealand 2 0 1 1 1998–99 Pakistan India 2 1 1 0 1998–99 Pakistan India 1 0 1 0 1998–99 Sri Lanka Sri Lanka 1 0 0 1 Total 47 141419 29.79 26 Sachin Tendulkar 1996–97 Australia India 1 1 0 0 1996–97 South Africa India 3 2 1 0 1996–97 South Africa South Africa 3 0 2 1 1996–97 West Indies West Indies 5 0 1 4 1997 Sri Lanka Sri Lanka 2 0 0 2 1997–98 Sri Lanka India 3 0 0 3 1999–2000 New Zealand India 3 1 0 2 1999–2000 Australia Australia 3 0 3 0 1999–2000 South Africa India 2 0 2 0 Total 25 4 9 1216.00 27 Sourav Ganguly 2000–01 Bangladesh Bangladesh 1 1 0 0 2000–01 Zimbabwe India 2 1 0 1 2000–01 Australia India 3 2 1 0 2001 Zimbabwe Zimbabwe 2 1 1 0 2001 Sri Lanka Sri Lanka 3 1 2 0 2001–02 South Africa South Africa 2 0 1 1 2001–02 England India 3 1 0 2 2001–02 Zimbabwe India 2 2 0 0 2001–02 West Indies West Indies 5 1 2 2 2002 England England 4 1 1 2 2002–03 West Indies India 3 2 0 1 2002–03 New Zealand New Zealand 2 0 2 0 2003–04 New Zealand India 1 0 0 1 2003–04 Australia Australia 4 1 1 2 2003–04 Pakistan Pakistan 1 1 0 0 2004–05 Australia India 2 0 1 1 2004–05 South Africa India 2 1 0 1 2004–05 Bangladesh Bangladesh 2 2 0 0 2004–05 Pakistan India 3 1 1 1 2005–06 Zimbabwe Zimbabwe 2 2 0 0 Total 49 21 13 15 42.8628 Rahul Dravid 2003† New Zealand India 1 0 0 1 2004† Pakistan Pakistan 2 1 1 0 2004† Australia India 2 1 1 0 2005–06 Sri Lanka India 2 1 0 1 2006 Pakistan Pakistan 3 0 1 2 2006 England India 3 1 1 1 2006 West Indies West Indies 4 1 0 3 2006–07 South Africa South Africa 3 1 2 0 2007 Bangladesh Bangladesh 2 1 0 1 2007 England England 3 1 0 2 Total 25 8 6 11 32.00 29 Virender Sehwag 2005–06† Sri Lanka India 1 1 0 0 2009† New Zealand New Zealand 1 0 0 1 2010† Bangladesh Bangladesh 1 1 0 0 2011–12† Australia Australia 1 0 1 0 Total 4 2 1 1 50.00 30 Anil Kumble 2007 Pakistan India 3 1 0 2 2007–08 Australia Australia 4 1 2 1 2008 South Africa India 2 0 1 1 2008 Sri Lanka Sri Lanka 3 1 2 0 2008 Australia India 2 0 0 2 Total 14 3 5 6 21.42 31Mahendra Singh Dhoni 2008† South Africa India 1 1 0 0 2008† Australia India 2 2 0 0 2008 England India 2 1 0 1 2009 New Zealand New Zealand 2 1 0 1 2009 Sri Lanka India 3 2 0 1 2010 Bangladesh Bangladesh 1 1 0 0 2010 South Africa India 2 1 1 0 2010 Sri Lanka Sri Lanka 3 1 1 1 2010 Australia India 2 2 0 0 2010 New Zealand India 3 1 0 2 2010-11 South Africa South Africa 3 1 1 1 2011 West Indies West Indies 3 1 0 2 2011 England England 4 0 4 0 2011 West Indies India 3 2 0 1 2011–12 Australia Australia 3 0 3 0 2012 New Zealand India 2 2 0 0 2012 England India 4 1 2 1 2013 Australia India 4 4 0 0 2013 West Indies India 2 2 0 0 2013-14 South Africa South Africa 2 0 1 1 2014 New Zealand New Zealand 2 0 1 1 2014 England England 5 1 3 1 2014-15 Australia Australia 2 0 1 1 Total 60 27 18 15 45.00 32 Virat Kohli 2014–15† Australia Australia 2 0 1 1 2015 Bangladesh Bangladesh 1 0 0 1 2015 Sri Lanka Sri Lanka 3 2 1 0 2015 South Africa India 4 3 0 1 2016 West Indies West Indies 4 2 0 2 2016 New Zealand India 3 3 0 0 2016 England India 5 4 0 1 2017 Bangladesh India 1 1 0 0 2017 Australia India 3 1 1 1 2017 Sri Lanka Sri Lanka 3 3 0 0 2017 Sri Lanka India 3 1 0 2 2018 South Africa South Africa 3 1 2 0 2018 England England 5 1 4 0 2018 West Indies India 2 2 0 0 2018–19 Australia Australia 4 2 1 1 2019 West Indies West Indies 2 2 0 0 2019 South Africa India 3 3 0 0 2019 Bangladesh India 2 2 0 0 2020 New Zealand New Zealand 2 0 2 0 2020–21 Australia Australia 1 0 1 0 2021 England India 4 3 1 0 2021 New Zealand England 1 0 1 0 2021 England England 4 2 1 1 2021 New Zealand India 1 1 0 0 2021–22 South Africa South Africa 2 1 1 0 Total 68 40 17 11 58.82 33 Ajinkya Rahane 2017† Australia India 1 1 0 0 2018 Afghanistan India 1 1 0 0 2020–21† Australia Australia 3 2 0 1 2021† New Zealand India 1 0 0 1 Total 6 4 0 2 66.67 34 KL Rahul 2022† South Africa South Africa 1 0 1 0 2022 Bangladesh Bangladesh 2 2 0 0 Total 3 2 1 0 66.6735Rohit Sharma 2022 Sri Lanka India 2 2 0 0 2023 Australia India 4 2 1 1 2023 Australia England 1 0 1 0 2023 West Indies West Indies 2 1 0 1 2023-24 South Africa South Africa 2 1 1 0 2024 England India 5 4 1 0 2024 Bangladesh India 2 2 0 0 2024 New Zealand India 3 0 3 0 2024-25 Australia Australia 3 0 2 1 Total 24 12 9 3 50.00 36 Jasprit Bumrah 2022† England England 1 0 1 0 2024-25† Australia Australia 2 1 1 0 Total 3 1 2 0 33.3337Shubman Gill2025EnglandEngland52212025West IndiesIndia22002025South AfricaIndia10102026AfghanistanIndia1100Total953155.5538Rishabh Pant2025South AfricaIndia1010Total10100.00 Total 599 186 188 225 31.05 Last updated: 8 June 2026

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