India has a rich history when it comes to the ICC Cricket World Cups. They are one of the most successful teams in the history of this most sought-after event in a cricketing calendar. The men in blue are among the sides that have played in all World Cup editions and won the title twice, and only Australia has won more times.
Their win record of over 50 games is the third-best when we take a look at the overall World Cup statistics, and it is not possible without the captains who have led the side in the past. We will take a look at the captain and vice-captain for India in the 13 editions of the World Cup.
| Cricket World Cup Edition | Captain | Vice-Captain | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan | Bishen Singh Bedi | Group Stage |
| 1979 | Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan | Sunil Gavaskar | Group Stage |
| 1983 | Kapil Dev | Mohinder Amarnath | Champions |
| 1987 | Kapil Dev | Dilip Vengsarkar | Semi-Finalists |
| 1992 | Mohammad Azharuddin | Ravi Shastri | Round Robin stage |
| 1996 | Mohammad Azharuddin | Sachin Tendulkar | Semi-Finalists |
| 1999 | Mohammad Azharuddin | Ajay Jadeja | Super Six |
| 2003 | Sourav Ganguly | Rahul Dravid | Runner-up |
| 2007 | Rahul Dravid | Yuvraj Singh | Group Stage |
| 2011 | Mahendra Singh Dhoni | Virender Sehwag | Champions |
| 2015 | Mahendra Singh Dhoni | Virat Kohli | Semi-Finalists |
| 2019 | Virat Kohli | Rohit Sharma | Semi-Finalists |
| 2023 | Rohit Sharma | Hardik Pandya | To be decided |
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Key insights from the above stats
8: Number of captains to have led the Indian cricket team in the 13 different ICC Cricket World Cup editions. Rohit Sharma will become only the 8th Indian captain to lead the side in the mega event.
The other captains include Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan, Kapil Dev, Mohammad Azharuddin, Sourav Ganguly, current Indian team coach Rahul Dravid, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, and Virat Kohli.
4: Of the 7 captains mentioned above (excluding Rohit Sharma), only 4 of these players have captained the team in more than one World Cup. They are Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan, Kapil Dev, and MS Dhoni (all of them have done it twice), while Mohammad Azharuddin is the most experienced captain for India in World Cups, having led in 3 World Cups.
2: India has won the world title twice, and the captains who led the team in the World Cup on those occasions were Kapil Dev and MS Dhoni.
1983: India’s maiden triumph in the World Cup, and the team did so with the legendary all-rounder Kapil Dev at the helm of things. He was ably assisted by another legendary Indian player, Mohinder Amarnath, who played a key role in India clinching the title for the first time against all odds. Amaranth was named the man of the match in both the final and semi-final, while Kapil played arguably one of the greatest World Cup knocks of 175* in a league game against Zimbabwe in that edition.
2011: It was a memorable event as India waited 28 long years to lift their second-ever Cricket World Cup in the 50-over format, and the fact that it came at home was even more special. MS Dhoni, who won the inaugural T20 World Cup for India as skipper, led the team for the first time in the 50-over World Cup, and he did so irably.
Though his returns were average in the tournament, Dhoni’s 91* in the final scripted a title win for India. Virender Sehwag was his deputy in the tournament, and he played a crucial role in giving the team a blazing start with the bat throughout the tournament.
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