5 Indian Test Captains with the highest win percentage

Captaining a cricket team is difficult, leading a Test team where your players need to stay motivated for 5 days is even tougher. Being the captain of the team is the most prominent place to be in as the entire team depends on that one man. The captain does almost half of the work of the team himself by deciding strategies, selecting the playing 11 and maintaining the proper balance in the team.

Apart from being a captain, the player needs to maintain his personal performance as well. The burden of captaincy should not affect his personal performances. There have been many captains in the cricketing history who lost their form over the pressure of captaincy.

However, the Indian Test team has had some of the best captains in the entire cricketing world. Indian captains have not only taken the team to the next level but have also placed it at the most reputed place in world cricket. The dominance which West Indies team showed during the 19th century is now being shown by the Indian team.

This Indian domination was first started by Sourav Ganguly in the year 2000. Later on, MS Dhoni continued it from 2008 to 2014. The officials elected Virat Kohli as the Test captain of the Indian team in the year 2014 due to Dhoni’s retirement. Captain Kohli has carried forward this legacy from 2014 to present.

Here is a list of 5 Indian captains with the highest win percentage in Tests.

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#5 Mohammad Azharuddin - 29.78%

Mohammad Azharuddin

Born on 8 February 1963, Mohammad Azharuddin made his Test debut against England as the 169th Test player to represent the Indian team. The experts considered Azhar as a batting genius and this opinion grew stronger when he played an aggressive innings of 121 runs against England at Lord’s in 1990. In his entire Test career, Azhar scored 6216 runs in 99 matches at a blistering average of 45.08.

Mohammad Azharuddin became the captain of the Indian team succeeding Krishnamachari Srikkanth in the year 1989. He captained team India in 47 matches. Out of this 47 Test matches as the captain, he was victorious in 14 matches, making his total win percentage as 29.78%.

Apart from the fixing allegations imposed on him, he had a very successful cricketing career as he has the 5th highest win percentage for an Indian Test captain.

#4 Rahul Dravid (32.00%)

Rahul Dravid is also known as the "The Wall" by Indian fans due to his solid batting technique

Recognized as the Wall of India, Rahul Dravid is the 4th most successful Test captain in Indian history. Dravid had a win percentage of 32 during his run as India’s Test skipper.

Rahul Dravid entered the Indian Test team as its 207th player. He scored 13,288 runs in his 164 matches which included 36 centuries and 63 half-centuries. He scored runs at an average of 52.31 which included his innings best of 270 runs.

Dravid had a decent career as a captain though it included various difficulties. He captained India for the first time as the replacement for injured Sourav Ganguly in the year 2004. The Wall captained India in 25 matches out of which 8 matches resulted in the victory of the Indian team.

#3 Sourav Ganguly (42.85%)

Sourav Ganguly is currently a cricket expert

Known as Dada, Sourav Chandidas Ganguly played his debut Test on 20 June 1996 against England. Ganguly scored 7212 runs in his 113 matches and had a top score of 239 runs. In his entire Test career, Dada scored 16 centuries and 35 half-centuries at an average of 42.17 runs.

Succeeding Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly first captained the Indian team in the year 2000 and held on to the reins until 2006. Dada captained the Indian team in 49 matches which included 21 wins and 13 losses with a win percentage of 42.85.

#2 MS Dhoni (45.00%)

MS Dhoni

MS Dhoni played his debut match against Sri Lanka as the 251st Test player of his nation. Right from the beginning, he gave first preference to his nation and then to his personal records; a quality which contributed to his rise as one of the most successful captains of the Indian team.

The Ranchi boy also took his level of wicket keeping to a whole new level. Donning the gloves, Dhoni took 256 spectacular catches and accounted for 38 mind-blowing stumpings in his entire Test career. His exceptional batting skills helped him score 4876 runs in his 90 matches with a top score of 224 runs.

Introducing Dhoni as a captain was the main turning point for the Indian team. He made his Test captaincy debut against Australia replacing the injured Anil Kumble in the year 2008. Out of the 60 matches he captained the Indian team, 27 matches resulted in victory.

#1 Virat Kohli (57.14%)

Virat Kohli

Dominating all the cricketing nations in the world, Virat Kohli has emerged as the most successful captain for India in Tests. His hunger for victory in every match has helped Virat to have the highest win percentage for India as a captain in Tests. Virat Kohli, the captain has a win percentage of 57.14.

With a top score of 243 runs, the Delhi boy has scored 6331 runs in the 73 matches he has played, at a mind-boggling average of 54.57 runs.

Nicknamed as Chiku, Kohli took over the captaincy from Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the year 2014. From 2014 to present time, Kohli has captained India for a total of 42 matches in Tests, out of which 24 matches have resulted in the victory.

Virat Kohli will lead team India next in the Test series against Australia and he would be keen to inspire the Men in Blue to a memorable series win Down Under.