3 Indian captains who failed to record a win in their first 3 matches ft. Shreyas Iyer

× Team India captaincy is a massive responsibility irrespective of the era and the format, making it imperative for a new skipper to get the ground running, and get the first win out of the way to get some momentum. Most Indian captains, both full-time and interim, in recent times have been able to get their first win quickly under their belt on the back of the team's prowess. Ad However, there is a small section of captains that have had to wait to get their first win, and suffer a string of losses in the process.

Many Indian captains like Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill, among others, have lost their first match as captain across all formats, but they have found a way to turn things around quickly. Going without a win in the first three games as captain hardly defines their tenure as leader, but it would be ideal to get the early wobble out of the way. On that note, let us take a look at the three Indian captains who failed to record a win in their first 3 matches.

Ad Trending #1 Shreyas Iyer The latest name on the list is Shreyas Iyer, whose winless run as Team India captain extended to three matches after the first T20I against England at the Riverside Ground was washed out due to rain. The newly-appointed captain, who had taken over from Suryakumar Yadav, had begun his captaincy stint with back-to-back losses in the T20I series against Ireland. With two losses and a washout across his first three matches as skipper, Shreyas Iyer is on the lookout to open his account and improve his win percentage, which stands at zero at the moment.

Ad In stark contrast to his international captaincy career start, he had racked up two wins in his first three matches as Delhi Daredevils (now renamed as Delhi Capitals) after being appointed midway through the season. He has risen from strength to strength since then, making it to three IPL finals, and even winning a title. #2 Mohammad Azharuddin The legendary Indian captain, who has led the side in 95 Tests and 175 ODIs, had a horrid start to his captaincy career.

Appointed captain in 1990, his stint began with a crushing 10-wicket loss to New Zealand in Christchurch, which was followed by two drawn matches. Ad To make matters worse, his winless run continued into ODIs as well after India began the Rothmans Cup tri-series with successive losses to Australia and New Zealand. As a result, with three losses and two draws across two formats, Azharuddin was without a single win as India captain after five matches.

The string of losses was eventually broken with a narrow one-run win over New Zealand in Wellington. Although his struggles as captain continued for a while, he was able to turn things around eventually. Ad #3 KL Rahul The wicket-keeper batter is another unfortunate member who had to suffer initially as captain, before getting his first win.

Although not a full-time captain like the players mentioned above, KL Rahul has often been a reliable leadership prospect, and is still the Test team vice-captain. KL Rahul availed the opportunity to lead India for the first time in the second Test against South Africa during the 2021-22 tour after Virat Kohli sustained a last-minute back injury. However, he could not lead the team to victory as the Proteas managed to level the series with a win at the Wanderers.

KL Rahul also led the ODI team during the same tour, but suffered a humiliating 0-3 whitewash, stretching his winless run as captain to four games in a row. He eventually turned things around after leading a second-string India outfit to a 3-0 ODI series whitewash in Zimbabwe, later that year. × Was this article helpful?

Thank You for feedback Follow IPL Auction 2025 Live Updates, News & Biddings at Sportskeeda. Get the fastest updates on Mega-Auction and cricket news Quick Links More from Sportskeeda Edited by Gokul Nair Team India captaincy is a massive responsibility irrespective of the era and the format, making it imperative for a new skipper to get the ground running, and get the first win out of the way to get some momentum. Most Indian captains, both full-time and interim, in recent times have been able to get their first win quickly under their belt on the back of the team's prowess.

Ad However, there is a small section of captains that have had to wait to get their first win, and suffer a string of losses in the process. Many Indian captains like Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill, among others, have lost their first match as captain across all formats, but they have found a way to turn things around quickly. Going without a win in the first three games as captain hardly defines their tenure as leader, but it would be ideal to get the early wobble out of the way.

On that note, let us take a look at the three Indian captains who failed to record a win in their first 3 matches. Ad Trending #1 Shreyas Iyer The latest name on the list is Shreyas Iyer, whose winless run as Team India captain extended to three matches after the first T20I against England at the Riverside Gro