Stats: Is Virat Kohli the Most Dominant Leader at Home?

Nov 29, 2017 at 3:29 PM

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Stats: Is Virat Kohli the Most Dominant Leader at Home?

Indian cricket has always been blessed with a megastar, from the Sunil Gavaskar to Sachin Tendulkar and now Virat Kohli; these cricketers have entertained Indian fans of different generations. However, Gavaskar and Tendulkar both were not very successful captain who is not the case with Virat Kohli.  Kohli has already achieved enormous highs in his short career as a captain. In the 30 Tests he has led in, India has won 19 matches and lost just three.

Kohli has always been regarded as a gifted leader, and since his under-19 world cup triumph, he was always pitted to be India’s next captain. The under-19 campaign which the Indian team won under Virat Kohli’s captaincy opened the door for the right-handed batsmen. He is now being touted to become one of the greatest batsmen and is all set to break some serious cricketing records.

Image Courtesy: Twitter

In his short time span of becoming the captain of Indian cricket team in all three formats, Kohli has achieved astonishing heights. He has captained in 30 Test matches since becoming the captain in 2015; he has won 19 Tests, losing just three and drawing eight of them.

His home record is even more impressive; he has led in 18 Tests, winning 13 matches, losing one and four matches ended in a draw. In comparison to the other Indian skippers, Kohli’s win/loss ratio is the best at 13.

Let’s have a look at the record of other Indian captains at home-:

  • Ajit Wadekar 

    The then Indian-skipper Ajit Wadekar and leg-spinner Bhagwat Chandrasekhar waving to the crowd after a famous win. Photo Credit: Getty Images

 Ajit Wadekar led Bombay in the domestic circuit before he was appointed the captain of the Indian national side in 1971. It was an era when Indian cricket had the like of Sunil Gavaskar, EAS Prasanna, Gundapa Vishwanath, Farookh Engineer, Bishen Bedi etc. He led India to its first ever overseas victory while touring the West Indies and England. While playing at home, he led India in five matches, winning one, losing one and drawing two. The win/loss ratio under his captaincy was 2.25.

  • Mohammad Azharuddin 
Indian cricketers Mohammad Azharuddin (left) and Saurav Ganguly before the 3rd Test match between England and India at Trent Bridge, Nottingham on 4th July 1996. The match ended in a draw. (Photo by David Munden/Popperfoto/Getty Images)

Mohammad Azharuddin succeeded Krishnamachari Srikkanth in 1989 and led India in 47 Tests out of which 20 Tests were in India. Azharuddin had a win/loss ratio of 3.33 at home as he won 13 matches, lost four and eight matches were drawn.

  • Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar has scored most numbers of hundreds as a captain for India in Tests; 11.

Sunil Gavaskar was India’s captain on several occasions in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s and was regarded as one of the most defensive Indian captains. He led India in 47 Tests and drew 30 matches out of them. At home, he led in 29 Test matches out of which he won seven matches and drawing 20 out of them. He lost just two matches as a captain with a win/loss ratio of 3.50.

  • MS Dhoni 
Mahendra Singh Dhoni captained India in 60 Test matches, winning 27 out of them.

MS Dhoni is regarded as one of the most successful Indian captains in both the formats. His Test record at home is even more impressive as his win/loss ratio is double of Sunil Gavaskar’s W/L ratio. At home, he led in 30 Tests winning 21 out of them losing three and drawing six out of them. He had a win/loss ratio of seven.

Captain Name Played Wins Loss Drawn Win/Loss Ratio
Virat Kohli 18 13 1 4 13
MS Dhoni 30 7
Sunil Gavaskar 29 7 2 20 3.5
Md. Azharuddin 20 13 4 8 3.33
Ajit Wadekar 4 1 1 2 2.25

Not just amongst the Indian captains, he has the best win/loss ratio amongst his contemporaries as well. Let’s have at look at the record of his contemporaries at their home venues.

  • Kane Williamson 
Image Courtesy: Getty Images

Kane Williamson has led the Kiwis in seven Test matches at home out of which he has won four and lost just one. He has an impressive win /loss ratio of 4.

  • Joe Root 
LONDON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 09: England captain Joe Root walks across the outfield after winning the 3rd Investec Test match between England and the West Indies at Lord’s Cricket Ground on September 9, 2017, in London, England. (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)

Regarded as one of the modern greats, his record as a captain at home is the poorest out of his contemporaries. He has led the English side in seven Tests, winning five and losing two.

  • Steven Smith 

    Ashes 2017-18, Match Prediction, 1st Brisbane, Australia Vs England, Joe Root, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, James Anderson,
    Smith to marshal his troops. Photo Credit: AAP.

As a Test batsman, his stats are better than the Indian captain. But as captain his win/loss ratio at home has some thinking to do. He has led in 16 Tests out of which he has won 10, lost two and drawn four. However, he has an impressive win/loss ratio of 5.

  • Faf Du Plessis
Image Courtesy: Web

Faf Du Plessis is yet to lose a Test match at home out of the seven matches he has led in at home. He has won six matches and has drawn just one.

Captain Name Played Wins Loss Drawn Win/Loss Ratio
Virat Kohli 18 13 1 4 13
Faf Du Plessis 7 6 0 1
Steven Smith 16 10 2 4 5
Joe Root 7 5 2 0 2.5
Kane Williamson 7 4 1 2 4
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