Iceland Cricket has named a satirical playing XI featuring some of the least successful Test captains in cricket history. They included three former Indian captains, Sachin Tendulkar, Kapil Dev and Bishan Singh Bedi, alongside several other prominent names from Test cricket.
The unusual XI has attracted attention because of the players included, with England legend Ian Botham named as the captain of the team. Pakistan’s Shan Masood, Australia’s Kim Hughes, West Indies great Brian Lara, New Zealand’s John Reid and Daniel Vettori also feature in the XI.
Iceland Cricket Names Star-Studded Least Successful Captains XI
Iceland Cricket took to X (formerly Twitter) to share the XI of Test captains whose leadership records did not match their individual reputations. "Today we give you our least successful Test captains XI of all time," the account wrote.
Shan Masood won only four of his 16 Tests as Pakistan captain, with a 25% win rate. He was recently replaced as captain by Babar Azam. At No. 3 and No. 4, Iceland Cricket picked West Indies great Brian Lara and India legend Sachin Tendulkar.
New Zealand’s John Reid and England all-rounder Ian Botham were placed at No. 5 and No. 6. Botham captained England in 12 Tests between 1980 and 1981 but did not win a single match, suffering four defeats and drawing eight. Iceland Cricket labelled him a “bad captain of captains.”
Lara led the West Indies in 47 Tests, winning 10 and losing 26. Tendulkar, meanwhile, captained India in 25 Tests, winning four, losing nine and drawing 12. His win rate stood at just 16%.
India’s 1983 World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev comes in at No. 7. He won only four of his 34 Tests as captain, losing seven and drawing 22, with an 11.76% win rate. Pakistan’s Sarfaraz Ahmed is the wicketkeeper at No. 8, while Daniel Vettori, Bishan Singh Bedi and Intikhab Alam complete the XI.
Iceland Cricket’s Least Successful Captains XI
Iceland Cricket XI: Shan Masood (Pakistan), Kim Hughes (Australia), Brian Lara (WI), Sachin Tendulkar (India), John Reid (New Zealand), Ian Botham (England) (bad captain of captains), Kapil Dev (India), Sarfaraz Ahmed (Pakistan) (wk), Danel Vettori (NZ), Bishan Bedi (India), Intikhab Alam (Pakistan)
Today we give you our least successful Test captains XI of all-time: Shan Masood (Pakistan) Kim Hughes (Australia) Brian Lara (WI) Sachin Tendulkar (India) John Reid (New Zealand) Ian Botham (England) (bad captain of captains) Kapil Dev (India) Sarfaraz Ahmed (Pakistan) (wk) Danel Vettori (NZ) Bishan Bedi (India) Intikhab Alam (Pakistan)
— Iceland Cricket (@icelandcricket) September 9, 2026
Virat Kohli Leads India’s Most Successful Test Captains
India have also produced several captains who turned their leadership opportunities into highly successful Test careers. Virat Kohli is at the top of the list among those who have led the team in at least 10 Tests.
Kohli captained India in 68 Tests and won 40 of them. He suffered 17 defeats and drew 11 matches, giving him an impressive win rate of 58.82%.
Current captain Shubman Gill is at second place after winning six of his 11 Tests as captain. He has suffered three defeats and recorded two draws with a 54.54% win rate.
MS Dhoni secured 27 wins from 60 Tests as captain. He lost 18 and drew 15, finishing with a 45% win rate. Sourav Ganguly is in fourth place with 21 wins, 13 defeats, and 15 draws from 49 Tests.
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