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 admirably.
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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3: Number of times India has reached the final of the World Cup. They won the finale twice, in 1983 and 2011, respectively; however, in the 2003 edition, India lost the final match to Australia. Sourav Ganguly was the skipper of the side that had Rahul Dravid as his deputy. It is still one of the most forgettable moments in Indian cricket history.
1975 and 1979: India was under the leadership of former spinner Srinivas Venkataraghavan. Bishen Singh Bedi (1975) and legendary opener Sunil Gavaskar (1979) were his deputies. Unfortunately, India couldn’t go past the group stages on both occasions, as they combinedly won just a solitary game across the 1975 and 1979 editions. It was indeed a disappointing start for Team India when it came to the World Cups.
Apart from this, India exited early from the World Cup on two occasions: the 1992 edition held in Australia and the 2007 edition heartbreak in the Caribbean. Mohammad Azharuddin led the side for the first time in a WC event in 1992, and the team failed to go past the round-robin stage. In 2007, the current Indian coach, Dravid, was in charge of the men in blue, where they faced a group stage exit.
4: The number of times India has reached the semi-final mark of the World Cup, and it came under 4 different captains. Kapil Dev led the 1987 team with Vengsarkar as his deputy and lost out to England in the semi-finals. The next time they reached the semis was in 1996 under the helm of Azharuddin, where the team faced heartbreak against the eventual champions, Sri Lanka.
Both 2015 and 2019 saw India lose to Australia and New Zealand, respectively, in the knockout stage of the tournament. While MS Dhoni was the skipper of the side in 2015, Virat Kohli, with Rohit as his deputy, lost a chance to make it 3 titles in 2019.
India once again has a chance to make amends when they play the hosts and have a chance to win the championship for the third time in their history. This time, Rohit Sharma is the skipper, and all-rounder Hardik Pandya will be the vice-captain.
