List of all players to captain India in T20I cricket

A total of 14 players have led India in T20I cricket.

Team India are one of the most established teams in the cricket world. It is not easy to make it to the Indian team for a player. Similarly, it is even harder to lead the Indian Cricket Team in international cricket. India played their first T20I match on December 1, 2006; since then, India have been pretty active in this format of the game.

But in these years, a number of players have led India in T20I cricket. Unlike the other two formats, the shortest format has seen a total of 14 captains till now. Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni have led India to T20 World Cup wins as well. In this article, we will talk about the list of players who have captained India in T20I cricket.

List of all players to captain India in T20I cricket:

1. Virender Sehwag

India played their first T20I match on December 1, 2006. It was a game against South Africa in Johannesburg. India won that game by six wickets while chasing 127, and Virender Sehwag was the captain of the team. He was India’s first T20I captain, and interestingly, he led the team in only one match.

2. MS Dhoni

The legendary Indian captain, MS Dhoni, was the first player to captain India at the T20 World Cup. In 2007, he made his captaincy at the T20 World Cup 2007 and India won the title under his leadership, which started his journey as captain. Dhoni led the T20I team until 2016 in 72 matches; India won 41 games, lost 28, two matches ended with no result, and one was a tie.

3. Suresh Raina

Suresh Raina was a key player for India in the shortest format for a number of years. That’s when he also led the Indian team in T20Is. Raina mainly led India in the absence of MS Dhoni. He captained in three games between 2010 and 2011, and India won all three of those matches.

4. Ajinkya Rahane

Ajinkya Rahane was a regular member of the Indian T20I side for a few years. That’s when he also got the chance to captain Team India. It came in 2015, when he led Team India in two T20Is. India won both matches. Rahane played 20 T20Is in his career and was the fourth Indian to lead the team in T20Is.

5. Virat Kohli

After MS Dhoni stepped down as captain in all three formats, it was Virat Kohli, who became his successor. Virat led India between 2017 and 2022. His first T20I as a captain was in 2017, and he led India until the 2021 T20 World Cup in the UAE. Under Virat’s captaincy, India played 50 T20Is and won 30; losing 16 and two each ended in ties and draws.

6. Rohit Sharma

After Virat Kohli stepped down from T20I captaincy in 2021, it was Rohit Sharma who took charge. Even before that, Rohit captained India on a few occasions, but his full-time tenure started in 2021. He even led India to the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 title. Rohit stayed as T20I captain until the T20 World Cup 2024 and announced his T20I retirement. He is the most successful Indian captain. Under him, India won 50 of 62 matches, with a win percentage of close to 80. India lost only 12 matches under his captaincy, with one tied game.

7. Shikhar Dhawan

Shikhar Dhawan also captained India in white-ball cricket. Generally, he led India’s second-string teams. In T20Is, he led India in three matches in 2021. India won one game and lost two. Dhawan was the seventh player to captain India in T20I cricket.

8. Rishabh Pant

Rishabh Pant was the next player to lead India in the shortest format. He led India in a five-match home series against South Africa in 2022. The series was drawn as both teams won two matches each, while one game ended with no result. He is still considered as one of the future captains of India.

9. Hardik Pandya

Hardik Pandya has been part of India’s white-ball setup since 2016 and has now become one of the key members. He has been the deputy of Rohit Sharma in big events as well and played a key role in India’s ICC T20 World Cup 2024 triumph. Hardik Pandya first captained India in 2022 and since then, he has led India in 16 T20Is so far. India won 10, lost five and one match ended without a result in those 16.

10. KL Rahul

KL Rahul is another big name in the Indian cricket team across three formats. He has won many a matches for India and seeing that, the selectors have named him as vice-captain and captain on various occasions. He has captained India in tests and ODIs in more occasions in T20Is. So far, he has captained India in T20Is only once and it came when Rohit Sharma decided to take rest in Asia Cup 2022 game against Afghanistan. India won the game comfortably. KL Rahul has been out of the India’s T20I setup after 2022 T20 World Cup and it is to be seen if he ever returns to play this format for India.

11. Jasprit Bumrah

Jasprit Bumrah is the only bowler to lead India in the T20 internationals. Though India have only played two matches under Bumrah, he is one of the captains to lead the country in T20Is. In 2023, Bumrah led India in a three-match T20I series against Ireland. It was his comeback series after injury. India won two matches of the series while the last game got abandoned due to rain.

12. Ruturaj Gaikwad

Ruturaj Gaikwad has also captained India in the shortest format. Gaikwad led India in the Asian Games 2022 and won the gold medal as captain. With this, he became only the second captain after MS Dhoni to win a big T20I tournament in his first attempt. India won two out of three matches they under him, while the third was called off.

13. Suryakumar Yadav

Suryakumar Yadav is probably the most important player for India in the shortest format in recent times. He has been at top of the rankings for T20I batters for a few years and has been given the role of Indian captain in a few series. Under him, India played a T20I series against Australia and South Africa in 2023. He led India to five wins in seven T20I matches with two defeats.

14. Shubman Gill

Shubman Gill became the latest addition to this list in July 2024. He became 14th Indian cricketer to lead the side in T20Is. He made his T20I captaincy debut for India against Zimbabwe in a five-match T20I series in July 2024. He was handed captaincy of a young side which toured Zimbabwe after just one week of India’s T20 World Cup 2024-winning campaign concluded. However, his first game as captain ended in a horror as India lost the game to Zimbabwe. He became third youngest player to captain India in T20Is at the age of 24 years and 302 days.

(List and numbers updated till 6th July, 2024)

For more updates, follow Khel Now Cricket for IPL 2024 Live Score & IPL Points Table,  on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube; download the Khel Now Android App or IOS App and join our community on Whatsapp & Telegram.