With Rohit Sharma calling time on his Test career earlier this month, India are preparing to usher in a new leadership era. Shubman Gill, 25, has been named India’s new Test captain ahead of the five-match series against England, beginning June 20. Rishabh Pant, meanwhile, has been made Gill’s deputy.
While Jasprit Bumrah led the side briefly during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT), the BCCI suggested that selectors favour Gill for the long-term leadership role. With age on his side and no fitness concerns, Gill is being looked at as the present and future face of Indian cricket.
Gill’s rise through the ranks has been steady and assured. From winning the 2018 U19 World Cup for India to now captaining the Gujarat Titans in IPL 2025 with great maturity, his credentials make him a strong fit to lead India into a new World Test Championship (WTC) cycle. With Kohli, Rohit, and Ashwin retired, the transition is well and truly underway.
India played their first Test in 1932 under CK Nayudu, and since then, 36 different players have captained the national side in red-ball cricket. Here’s a full list of all men’s Test captains for India:
Full list of India’s Men’s Test Captains
| No. | Captain | Matches | Won | Lost | Draw/Tied | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | C. K. Nayudu | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 2 | Maharajkumar of Vizianagram | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 3 | Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 4 | Lala Amarnath | 15 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 13.33 |
| 5 | Vijay Hazare | 14 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 7.14 |
| 6 | Vinoo Mankad | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| 7 | Ghulam Ahmed | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 8 | Polly Umrigar | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 25 |
| 9 | Hemu Adhikari | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 10 | Datta Gaekwad | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | Pankaj Roy | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | Gulabrai Ramchand | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 20 |
| 13 | Nari Contractor | 12 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 16.67 |
| 14 | Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi | 40 | 9 | 19 | 12 | 22.5 |
| 15 | Chandu Borde | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | Ajit Wadekar | 16 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 25 |
| 17 | S. Venkataraghavan | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 18 | Sunil Gavaskar | 47 | 9 | 8 | 30 | 19.14 |
| 19 | Bishan Singh Bedi | 22 | 6 | 11 | 5 | 27.27 |
| 20 | Gundappa Viswanath | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 21 | Kapil Dev | 34 | 4 | 7 | 23 | 11.76 |
| 22 | Dilip Vengsarkar | 10 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 20 |
| 23 | Ravi Shastri | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100 |
| 24 | K. Srikkanth | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 25 | Mohammad Azharuddin | 47 | 14 | 14 | 19 | 29.79 |
| 26 | Sachin Tendulkar | 25 | 4 | 9 | 12 | 16 |
| 27 | Sourav Ganguly | 49 | 21 | 13 | 15 | 42.86 |
| 28 | Rahul Dravid | 25 | 8 | 6 | 11 | 32 |
| 29 | Virender Sehwag | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 50 |
| 30 | Anil Kumble | 14 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 21.42 |
| 31 | M. S. Dhoni | 60 | 27 | 18 | 15 | 45 |
| 32 | Virat Kohli | 68 | 40 | 17 | 11 | 58.82 |
| 33 | Ajinkya Rahane | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 66.67 |
| 34 | KL Rahul | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 66.67 |
| 35 | Rohit Sharma | 24 | 12 | 9 | 3 | 50 |
| 36 | Jasprit Bumrah | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 33.33 |
| 37 | Shubman Gill | – | – | – | – | – |
Virat Kohli is India’s most successful Test captain, having led the team to 40 wins in 68 matches between 2014 and 2022. Under his leadership, India became a dominant force both at home and overseas, including historic series wins in Australia and a rise to the No.1 Test ranking.
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