In today’s weekend blog, I am back on cricket.
Every cricketer’s dream is to represent their country in Test match cricket. Once they are an established member of the Test team, the next ambition is to lead the nation in the longest version of the game. A total of 33 cricketers have earned the privilege of captaining the Indian team in Test cricket. MS Dhoni holds the Indian record for the most Test matches as captain, having led the country on 60 occasions, followed by Virat Kohli with 55 Test matches as the Indian captain.
At the other end of the spectrum are players who have served Indian Test cricket for a long time but never got an opportunity to lead the country in Tests. On that note, let us have a look at the 5 Indian cricketers who have played the most Test matches without captaining the team.
5 Indian cricketers with most Test caps without leading the country.
# 5 Syed Kirmani– The Karnataka wicket-keeper-batsman represented India in 88 Test matches. He scored 2759 runs @ of 27.04, including 2 centuries and 12 half-centuries. He also accounted for 198 dismissals comprising of 160 catches and 38 stumpings. During his Test career from 1976 to 1986, he played under 4 Indian Captains with Sunil Gavaskar (47 matches) captaining him for most encounters, Bishan Singh Bedi (22 matches), Kapil Dev (17 matches) and GR Viswanath ( 2 matches) were the other captains under whom Kirmani demonstrated his skills behind the wickets.
Apart from these 88 Test matches he also represented India in 49 ODIs, where he scored 373 runs @ an average of 20.72 while also effecting 36 dismissals comprising 27 catches and9 stumpings. He was part of Indian cricket team who won the ODI World Cup in 1983.
#4 Zaheer Khan– The seamer from Baroda represented India in 92 Test matches. He scalped 311 wickets in these Test matches @ of 32.94. He managed to take 5-wicket haul on 11 occasions, with the best spell of 7/87 against Bangladesh at Dhaka in January 2010. During is 14 year Test career, he played under 5 Indian captains with Saurav Ganguly (36 matches) being his skipper for most matches. The other captains under whom the left-arm seamer displayed his wares were MS Dhoni (31 matches), Rahul Dravid (14 matches), Anil Kumble (8 matches) and Virender Sehwag (3 matches).
Zaheer Khan also represented India in 200 ODIs and 17 T20Is bagging 282 and 17 wickets respectively in the two formats. He was also the part of 2011 Indian tea who won 2011 ODI World Cup, in which he finished as the joint-highest wicket-taker.
#3 Ishant Sharma– The Delhi pacer has worn the Indian jersey in Test matches on 97 occasions. He has dismissed 297 batsmen in these Test matches @ 72.39. These wickets include eleven 5-wickets hauls with best spell of 7/74 coming against England at Lord’s in July 2014. Ishant Sharma has played under 6 Indian captains with MS Dhoni (47 matches) leading him in most encounters. The other captains under whom the pacer has been integral part of Indian Test squad are Virat Kohli (36 matches), Anil Kumble (9 matches), Virender Sehwag (3 matches0, Rahul Dravid (1 match) and Ajinkya Rahane (1 match).
He has also played 80 ODIs and 14 T20Is for India in which he has scalped 115 and 8 wickets respectively. He is most remembered for the manner he tormented Ricky Ponting in the Perth Test of 2008 before dismissing the great Aussie batsman.
#2 Harbhajan Singh– The Punjab off-spinner has represented India in 103 Test matches. He has got better of 417 batsmen in these Test matches @ 32.46. He has managed to take 5-wickets haul on 25 occasions with best effort of 8/84 against Australia at Chennai. Apart from these wickets, he has also scored 2224 runs in Test cricket, including 2 centuries. Between 1998 and 2015, he played Test matches for India under 8 captains with most of his games coming under Saurav Ganguly (37 matches). The other captains under whom he played are MS Dhoni (31 matches), Anil Kumble (12 matches) Rahul Dravis (11 matches) Mohd Azharuddin (8 matches) apart from 2 matches each under Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Virat Kohli.
Harbhajan Singh also represented India in 236 ODIs and 28 T20Is, bagging 269 and25 wickets respectively in the two formats. He was also member of 2011 ODI World Cup-winning Indian team, apart from being an integral part India’s 2007 T20 World Cup- winning squad. But it was his series-clinching 32 wickets including a hat-trick in 2001 Test series Against Australia that brought him to limelight.
#1 VVS Laxman– The Hyderabad batsman wielded his willow in 134 Test matches for India, the third most after Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid. He amassed 8781 runs I these matches @ 45.97 with memorable 281-run knock against Australia at Eden Gardens at Kolkata as his highest score. Additionally he also scored 17 centuries and 56 half-centuries. Having played India for more than 15 years, He played under 7 captains with Saurav Ganguly (43 matches) leading him the most encounters,. MS Dhoni (34 matches0, Anil Kumble (14 matches) Sachin Tendulkar (12 matches), Mohd Azharuddin (6 matches) and Virender Sehwag (4 matches) were the other Indian captains under whom he displayed his artistic strokeplay.
He also represented India in 86 ODIs, scoring 2338 runs @ 30.76, with 6 centuries and 10 half-centuries. The wristy right-hander is remembered for his innumerable classy innings in Test cricket, none more so than the epic 281 run-knock and 376-run partnership with Rahul Dravid against Australia that engineered a dramatic comeback for India after having been asked to follow-on.
Waiting for your feedback on this blog.
Anil Malik
Mumbai, India
25th July 2025