3 Indian Captains Who Never Lost a Test Series in England

Team India is definitely one of the strongest team in all 3 formats of the game. However, their real challenge lies when the Menk in Blue will tour England for a full tour starting from July. They are slated to play 3 ODI’s, 3 T20I’s followed by 5 Tests. It will definitely be a challenging series for India. They were beaten 3-1 in the 5 match series when India toured England the last time around back in 2014.

The visitors have a pretty strong squad and have the ability to outclass their oppositions. It will be testing time for Virat Kohli and Co who will be looking to seal a Test series victory on the English soil. The bowling line-up is better than the previous time. India has some serious fast bowlers and also have the luxury of picking from 4 world class bowlers.

Despite India’s horrendous performance in their last two tours of England, India has performed quite well in England earlier. They have produced some brilliant captain over the years. But not many have been able to lead their sides to series victories or avoid a series defeat.

Here is a list of 3 Indian captains who never lost a Test series in England

Kapil Dev (1986: India won the series by a 2-0 margin)

The former Indian skipper was the first who avoided a series defeat on the England shores. Under his leadership, India registered a 2-0 series victory during the 1986 tour of England. Kapil who s a holder of several records made his Test debut for India back in 1978. He gradually went on to become one of the finest skippers of India. Kapil is fondly remembered for being the 1^st Indian captain to lead India to a World Cup title in 1983.

The series victory in England was India’s 2^nd. Kapil also became the 2^nd Indian captain after Ajit Wadekar to win a Test series in England. India played some terrific brand of cricket all through the series. They registered a famous victory at the Mecca of Cricket, Lord’s and followed it up with another victory at Trent Bridge. Kapil captained India in 34 Test matches between 1983 to 1987.

Sourav Ganguly (2002: Series was drawn 1-1)

Ganguly is widely regarded as one of the most inspirational captains in the world. He took over the duties of India when the whole world was coming to terms with the match-fixing scandal which hit world cricket in 1999-2000. He went on to become one of the greatest Indian skippers. Before MS Dhoni he was the most successful Test captain for India.

It was under his leadership that India started winning overseas on a consistent basis. During the series against England in 2002, India lost the opening test quite convincingly. However, they made a stunning comeback in the final Test at Leeds. The Big 3 Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly smashed centuries as India posted a huge total on the board.

In 2002, Ganguly became one of the three Indian captains to never lose a Test series in England. The bowling duo of Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble was also spectacular during the series.

Rahul Dravid (2007: India won the series by a 1-0 margin)

The Great Wall of India entered the record books when he became the 3^rd Indian skipper after Wadekar and Kapil Dev to win a Test series in England. The visitors were quite brilliant during the series and was the more dominant team. They survived with a draw in the 1^st Test courtesy brilliant innings from MS Dhoni. Rain also helped them in the last session of the opening Test.

They gained confidence from the close draw and went on to win the 2^nd Test quite comprehensively at Trent Bridge. It was a brilliant performance by India which saw them lead the series 1-0. They had chances of completing a 2-0 series win. However, it wasn’t to be as England batters played out for a draw. However, India was the better team.