5 successful temporary captains for India

The Indian team has boasted of some great captains over the years who have garnered a lot of success across different formats of the game. Going back in time, the likes of Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar and Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi led India to some famous wins. In recent years, captains like Sourav Ganguly and MS Dhoni have taken the country's cricket to greater heights.

However, apart from these iconic leaders, some stand-in captains have done the job in the absence of the regular skippers. These players did not skipper the team too often but managed to win matches when they took over the reins for brief periods.

Here are five successful temporary captains in Indian cricket:

#1 Gautam Gambhir

Gautam Gambhir led India to a clean sweep against New Zealand.

One of India's best openers in recent years, Gautam Gambhir did a great job as captain of the Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League. However, the left-handed batsman was also the skipper of the Indian team for a few matches.

Gambhir has an incredible 6-0 win-loss record in ODIs and is easily among the most successful stand-in captains for Team India. His captaincy stint included a one-day series at home against New Zealand where he became the 21st ODI skipper in Indian cricket history.

It was a 5-match series in which India whitewashed the visitors, and Gautam Gambhir was named 'Man of the Series' for his 329 runs with two centuries.

#2 Polly Umrigar

India won 2 Tests under Polly Umrigar’s leadership

Polly Umrigar was one of India's earliest batting superstars and scored more than 3000 runs at a 40-plus average in a Test career which lasted 59 matches. Umrigar had a brief stint as captain of the Indian cricket team, and he managed to do a pretty decent job at the helm of affairs.

His first series in charge of the team was at home against New Zealand in 1955/56 where he took over from Ghulam Ahmed from the 2nd Test onwards. India won the 5-match series 2-0 with both victories coming under Umrigar's captaincy.

In the 3-match series against Australia that followed, though, the Indians lost by the same margin and could draw just one Test. Polly Umrigar managed to lead the side to a draw in the first of 5 Tests against West Indies at home but was replaced by Ahmed and India eventually lost the series 3-0.

#3 Ajay Jadeja

Ajay Jadeja did quite well whenever he became captain

At a certain point of time, Ajay Jadeja was one of the better batsmen in the Indian ODI team. With more than 5000 runs in nearly 200 one-day matches at an average of 37.47, Jadeja looked set for greater things until the match-fixing saga impacted his career negatively. The Haryana cricketer was never seen sporting India's blue jersey ever again.

While he was still playing though, Jadeja often filled in as captain, primarily when Mohammad Azharuddin was not available. He led the team in 13 ODI matches, out of which they managed to win eight and lost 5, giving Jadeja a win percentage of 61.53. Before his career came to an abrupt end, the cricketer was being tipped to replace Azharuddin as skipper.

#4 Suresh Raina

Raina’s leadership skills came to the fore in a series against West Indies

Suresh Raina has been a limited-overs specialist for India over the past several years. The southpaw has scored 5615 runs in ODIs and more than 1000 runs in T20Is. In his career, Raina has also received a few opportunities to captain the Indian team, and he has done a decent job.

The Uttar Pradesh batsman has led Team India in 12 ODI matches, out of which they won 6 and lost 5. Suresh Raina captained the team to a 3-2 series victory in West Indies and also a 2-0 win over Bangladesh in a 3-match series. Stuart Binny record-breaking bowling performance of 6 for four against the Bangladeshis also came under Raina's captaincy.

The hard-hitting batsman has lead the Indian side in T20Is too, and he has a win percentage of 100 in the format. Suresh Raina skippered India to victory in a 2-match T20I series against Zimbabwe and a one-off T20I against West Indies.

#5 Virender Sehwag

Sehwag’s epic 219 came as captain of the ODI team

One of the hardest hitters of the cricket ball, Virender Sehwag, had an incredible career as an opening batsman for India in all formats. He dominated with the bat and registered some of the top scores for India in both Tests, and ODIs. In his 12-year long career, Sehwag has led the Indian team in all three forms of the game.

In the Test arena, Virender Sehwag captained the side in 4 matches, out of which two were won by India and one ended in a draw. In ODI cricket, Sehwag was the captain in 12 games and registered seven victories. His brilliant 219, the highest ODI score at that point, against West Indies came when he was leading the team.

Apart from this, the iconic batsman has also been the captain of the T20I team in one match which the Indians won.