| Captain | Matches | Won | Lost | Draw | Win% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virat Kohli | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 40.00 |
| MS Dhoni | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 20.00 |
| Rahul Dravid | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 33.33 |
| Rohit Sharma | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 50.00 |
| Mohammad Azharuddin | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0.00 |
| Sourav Ganguly | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0.00 |
| KL Rahul | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Sachin Tendulkar | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0.00 |
Key Insights
Virat Kohli has won the most Test matches in South Africa as India’s captain. He remains the only one with multiple victories, with the first of the wins coming in 2018 in Johannesburg, while the second followed in 2021 in Centurion. Virat also tops the asian captains list for winning most matches as captain in SENA countries.
Kohli has also lost the most Tests in South Africa, with three defeats in his tenure. MS Dhoni, Rahul Dravid, and Sachin Tendulkar are the others with two losses each.
Kohli captained the Indian men in five Tests in South Africa, the joint-most alongside Dhoni.
Dravid was the first Indian captain to win a Test match in South Africa. Back in 2006, he guided India to a 123-run victory in Johannesburg to take a 1-0 lead. India, though, couldn’t maintain the lead and lost the next two matches to concede a series defeat.
Dhoni and Rohit Sharma are the two Indian captains to draw a series each in South Africa. India drew the 2010/11 three-match series 1-1 under Dhoni’s captaincy, while Sharma’s men did so in 2023/24. Explore Rohit’s overall captaincy records here.
No Indian skipper has, to date, managed a Test series victory in South Africa. This remains the only country where the Indian Test team haven’t won a series. Find out about India’s first Test series wins in other countries here.
Four more skippers – Tendulkar, Mohammad Azharuddin, Sourav Ganguly, and KL Rahul – led India in Tests in South Africa, though they couldn’t win a game.
Azharuddin was, in fact, the first Indian captain to lead the team on their first South Africa tour. The Indian men toured the country in 1992/93 after South Africa’s readmission to the sport in 1991.
