6 Captains who led India in cricket World Cup: From Venkataraghvan to MS Dhoni

Team India will kick off their campaign at the 12th edition of the Cricket World Cup in Southampton against South Africa on June 5. This is the second time after the 1999 World Cup that the Men in Blue will play their first game in the tournament against the Proteas. In 1999, Mohammad Azharuddin’s men had lost to Hansie Cronje’s side in Hove by 4 wickets with Jacques Kallis hitting 96 to obliterate Sourav Ganguly’s 97. This time, Team India will be led by Virat Kohli, arguably the best batsman that the cricketing world has seen at the moment. He has a balanced looking side at his disposal with experienced individuals and the force of the young guns as well. Kohli will be the seventh captain to lead India in the World Cup since the tournament was first played in June 1975 in England. Here we take a look at all the Indian captains who have led the country in the World Cup: 1. Srinivas Venkataraghavan (1975 and 1979): Srinivas Venkataraghavan. (Photo Source: Twitter) India’s most under-achieving captain at the World Cup. The off-break bowler played only 15 ODIs for India and six of them were at the World Cup as the captain of the team. Venkataraghavan led India in the first two editions of the tournament in England and out of six games that he led the country, he could win only one and that too was against a lowly East Africa at Leeds in 1975. Under his captaincy, India lost to England (by 202 runs) and New Zealand (4 wickets) in the 1975 edition and to the West Indies (by 9 wickets), New Zealand (8 wickets) and Sri Lanka (47 runs) in the 1979 tournament. By far, he is India’s worst captain at the World Cup with 16.66 per cent success. 2. Kapil Dev (1983 and 1987): Kapil Dev is considered to be India’s greatest all-rounder(Photo by Getty Images) The man who changed India’s cricketing fortunes forever. Not many had given a chance to the devils led by a 24-year-old Kapil and that was India’s advantage. They started off the historic 1983 edition with a 34-run win over West Indies. India then won twice against Zimbabwe and once against Australia while losing a game each to the Caribbeans and Aussies. In the semi-final, India beat England by 6 wickets and then stunned the mighty West Indies by 43 runs to clinch the title. Kapil was the captain in the next edition played at home, too. India started with a 1-run loss to Australia but then won twice against New Zealand and Zimbabwe and once against the Kangaroos. However, England avenged their 1983 defeat as Graham Gooch swept India out of the World Cup in the 1987 semi-final. Kapil led India in 15 matches at the WC, winning 11 and losing four (success rate of 73.33 per cent). 3. Mohammad Azharuddin (1992, 1996 and 1999): Mohammad Azharuddin. (Photo by Neal Simpson/EMPICS via Getty Images) Mohammad Azharuddin led India in three consecutive World Cups, something that great captains like Clive Lloyd and Ricky Ponting had done. However, India came up with a mediocre performance in the 1992 and 1999 editions while they made the semi-finals in 1996. India could win only two out of eight matches (against Pakistan and Zimbabwe), lost five (to England, Australia, West Indies, New Zealand and South Africa) while one match was washed out (against Sri Lanka). In the 1996 edition, India won against Kenya, West Indies and Zimbabwe to make the quarter-finals but lost to Australia and Sri Lanka. In the quarter-finals, India beat Pakistan but lost to Sri Lanka, the champions that year, in the semi-final following a crowd disturbance. In the 1999 edition, India lost to South Africa and Zimbabwe to start with but then won against Sri Lanka, Kenya and England to make the Super Six. In the Super Six, Azharuddin’s men lost to Australia and New Zealand but won over Pakistan. Azhar led India in 23 WC matches with 10 wins and 12 losses while one match was inconclusive (success rate of 43.47 per cent). 4. Sourav Ganguly (2003): Sourav Ganguly. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images) Sourav Ganguly led India in just one World Cup but the team made quite an impact in the 2003 edition played in the African continent – South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya. India had an ordinary start by getting all out for 204 against the Netherlands and then they were walloped by Australia by 9 wickets. However, India then went on to win all the matches that followed (against Zimbabwe, Namibia, England, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, New Zealand and Kenya (twice)) before losing a one-sided final to Austral again. Batting first the Aussies asked Ganguly’s men to chase down a massive 360 for the title victory and they failed miserably. Ganguly led India in 11 World Cup matches, winning nine and losing two (success rate of 81.81). 5. Rahul Dravid (2007): Rahul Dravid. (Photo credit should read Alessandro Abbonizio/AFP/Getty Images) The Wall was in charge of the India cricket team in one of the worst World Cup outings in the history. Team India played only three matches in that edition as they lost to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to crash out of the league stage of the tournament held in the Caribbeans. Also read- World Cup 2019: 5 Teams India should be wary of in the tournament The only match that India could win was against the associate team Bermuda, rekindling the memory of the 1975 edition. Dravid never got to captain the Indian team again in a World Cup and his success rate thus remains a low 33.33 per cent, better only than Srinivasan. 6. Mahendra Singh Dhoni (2011 and 2015): MS Dhoni of India. (Photo Source: Twitter) By far India’s most successful captain in World Cups. In the 2011 edition, India won four matches in the group (against Bangladesh, Ireland, Netherlands and West Indies) while they lost to South Africa and tied with England. In the quarter-finals, the home team beat Australia and then Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the semi-final and final, respectively. In the 2015 edition, too, India had a dream run till the semi-final in Australia and New Zealand when they lost their first match. Dhoni’s men beat Pakistan, South Africa, UAE, West Indies, Ireland and Zimbabwe. In the quarter-final, India thrashed Bangladesh but lost to Australia in the semis. Dhoni led India in 17 matches at the WC and won 14, lost two while one was tied (success rate of 82.35 per cent). Get the latest Cricket News and updates from World Cup 2019, Match Predictions, Fantasy Cricket Tips and lots more on CricTracker.com.

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6 Captains who led India in cricket World Cup: From Venkataraghvan to MS Dhoni

Team India has won two World Cups from 1975 to 2015 having made 11 appearances in the tournament so far.

5. Rahul Dravid (2007):

Also read- World Cup 2019: 5 Teams India should be wary of in the tournament

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