Stats: Players to win and lose their first match as captain in all the 3 formats
A total of 7 players also had a losing start to their captaincy career as their sides were defeated in their maiden game as captain in all the three formats.
Dinesh Chandimal had a great beginning to his captaincy career as his team recorded their highest run-chase of 388 runs in the Test cricket. Chandimal thus became the 5th Sri Lankan captain to win their first Test after Sanath Jayasuriya, Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara and Rangana Herath. Earlier in the game, by scoring a fifty in their first innings, the 27-year-old was one of the three Sri Lankan players to score a fifty in their maiden Test as captain.
Chandimal earlier led Sri Lanka in ODIs and T20Is as well with his first matches in both the formats, against South Africa and Bangladesh in 2013 respectively earned the team positive result. Thus he became the 7th player in history to win in his maiden match as captain in all the three formats and only the 2nd from Sri Lanka after Mahela Jayawardene.
The most recent of the 6 players to be a part of the list of the skippers, to begin their captaincy career with, a win in all the 3 formats was Ajinkya Rahane as he led India during their home series against Australia in absence of Virat Kohli.
List of players who won their first match as captain in all the three formats:
Player | Team | First Test | First ODI | First T20I |
Ricky Ponting | Australia | vs Sri Lanka, 2004 | vs South Africa, 2002 | vs New Zealand, 2005 |
Mahela Jayawardene | Sri Lanka | vs Bangladesh, 2006 | vs Zimbabwe, 2004 | vs England, 2006 |
Virender Sehwag | India | vs Sri Lanka, 2005 | vs Bangladesh, 2003 | vs South Africa, 2006 |
Adam Gilchrist | Australia | vs West Indies, 2000 | vs West Indies, 2001 | vs Sri Lanka, 2007 |
Ross Taylor | New Zealand | vs Zimbabwe, 2011 | vs Australia, 2010 | vs Pakistan, 2010 |
Ajinkya Rahane | India | vs Australia, 2017 | vs Zimbabwe, 2015 | vs Zimbabwe, 2015 |
Dinesh Chandimal | Sri Lanka | vs Zimbabwe, 2017 | vs South Africa, 2013 | vs Bangladesh, 2013 |
A total of 7 players also had a losing start to their captaincy career as their sides were defeated in their maiden game as captain in all the three formats. Chandimal’s opposition captain in the game, Graeme Cremer‘s Zimbabwe side lost the first match he has led them in all the three International formats. The recent entry to this 7-member list was Virat Kohli, who became the Indian captain in all formats earlier this year.
List of players who lost their first match as captain in all the three formats:
Player | Team | First Test | First ODI | First T20I |
Stephen Fleming | New Zealand | vs England, 1997 | vs Sri Lanka, 1997 | vs Australia, 2005 |
Shaun Pollock | South Africa | vs Sri Lanka, 2000 | vs Pakistan, 2000 | vs West Indies, 2007 |
Tillakaratne Dilshan | Sri Lanka | vs England, 2011 | vs India, 2010 | vs Pakistan, 2008 |
Brendon McCullum | New Zealand | vs South Africa, 2013 | vs India, 2009 | vs England, 2008 |
Hamilton Masakadza | Zimbabwe | vs Pakistan, 2013 | vs Pakistan, 2008 | vs Bangladesh, 2016 |
Graeme Cremer | Zimbabwe | vs New Zealand, 2016 | vs India, 2016 | vs India, 2016 |
Virat Kohli | India | vs Australia, 2014 | vs Sri Lanka, 2013 | vs England, 2017 |
(Stats as on July 18, 2017)
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