Waiting in the wings: 5 cricketers who played most ODIs before captaining India

The Indian team is currently on the Sri Lankan tour where it is playing a three-match ODI series and a three-match T20I series. The team is led by veteran batsman Shikhar Dhawan who received the mantle of captaincy after a very long time in his career. He played 142 ODIs before leading the Indian side for the first time. In this article, we will be discussing 5 Players who played most ODIs before captaining India.

Ajay Jadeja – 129

Ajay Jadeja played 129 ODIs before becoming the Indian captain. However, his stint was short with only 13 ODIs as an Indian skipper. Overall, he was part of the Indian team in 196 games in ODI cricket. He scored over 5000 runs including 6 centuries. In his first match as captain, Jadeja scored a fifty with India winning by 4 wickets.

Rahul Dravid – 138

Former Indian batter Rahul Dravid was made ODI captain for the first time in 2002 after playing 138 ODIs. He led the side in 79 games including World Cup 2007. In his first match as captain, India defeated Zimbabwe by 39 runs. He went on to become India’s full-time captain soon.

Shikhar Dhawan – 142

Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan led India in the first ODI against Sri Lanka in 2021. He had played 142 ODIs before that. Dhawan also became the oldest Indian captain on his captaincy debut. In the very first match, Dhawan played a match-winning knock of 86 runs off 95 balls.

Rohit Sharma – 171

Rohit Sharma waited for 171 ODIs before becoming Indian captain in the format. The match was against Sri Lanka which the team lost. However, in the very second game, Rohit smashed a double hundred. India won the three-match series 2-1 in 2017 under his captaincy.

Anil Kumble – 217

Anil Kumble played the most ODI matches (217) for India before captaining for the first time in the format. Overall he featured in 271 ODIs for India. He led the side in only one match that was against England in 2002. India won that match by 4 wickets with the help of a 68-run knock from Sachin Tendulkar.