Top 5 Youngest Cricketers To Lead India In ODIs

Leading a cricket team at a tender age is never easy whether in Tests, ODIs or T20Is. Despite that, some selectors have blooded a handful of cricketers for the role while new to international cricket. One of the primary reasons might be to inflict a brand new set of energy within the team after any kind of controversy or upheaval.

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As such, even in India, such changes have taken place or enforced by the selectors. The selectors picked the leader based on how well that athlete is in terms of skills. Few of them were able to translate their cricketing abilities to leadership skills. On the other hand, the remaining were better off as players.

We take a look at five youngest cricketers to lead India in ODIs:

Virat Kohli – 24 years, 239 days:

Current Indian captain Virat Kohli lead the nation for the first time in ODIs in 2013 for MS Dhoni. It got off to the worst possible start as Sri Lanka cantered to 348 off their stipulated 50 overs in Kingston. Upul Tharanga and Mahela Jayawardene opening partnership lasted for 39 overs before Angelo Mathews applied the finishing touches. Kohli’s two overs of medium pace couldn’t work the magic either, conceding nine runs for no wicket.

When batting, it all came crashing down for the men in blue as they found themselves reeling at 65-4 in the 19th over. Kohli, who was the stand-in captain, departed for a couple as Mathews sent him back. India inevitably lost the match by 161 runs. As a full-time captain now, the 31-year old has 62 wins out of 89 games that he has captained in.

Virender Sehwag – 24 years, 178 days

Virender Sehwag was arguably one of the most destructive batsmen across any format of the game. The 41-year old maintained a strike rate in excess of 80 in both ODI and Test cricket and is known for going after the bowlers straight away. Sehwag also occasionally served as the captain of the national team. His first match as captain came against Bangladesh in 2003 in Dhaka.

It began on a positive note as India chased down 207 with six wickets to spare. As a captain, Sehwag contributed a wicket and scored 43 runs while opening the batting. The Delhi-born former batsman has led the national team in 12 ODIs, winning seven of them. Sehwag also holds the highest score by a captain in ODIs when he scored 219 against the West Indies in 2011.

Kapil Dev – 23 years, 249 days

Kapil Dev has to be the greatest all-rounder that India has ever produced and amongst the big four during his playing days. Kapil Dev’s ODI captaincy tenure began in Amritsar in 1982 against Sri Lanka. And one would have to the Haryana Hurricane played an impactful knock to lead India to a winning total in 46 overs.

At number six, Kapil Dev smashed 49 off 31 deliveries that included three fours and a six. While defending 269, Kapil gave away only nine runs in eight overs by picking up a wicket as the hosts won by 78 runs. A year later, the all-rounder scripted India’s first World Cup victory at the Lord’s. India won 39 out of 74 ODIs under Kapil Dev.

Suresh Raina – 23 years, 182 days

Suresh Raina’s inaugural match as the captain began on a horrendous note. With India resting all their senior players for a low-profile Zimbabwe tour, the leadership duties was passed on to Raina. Rohit Sharma’s century and Ravindra Jadeja’s half-century gave the hosts to chase 286 in Harare. The stand-in captain chipped in with 37 off 53 balls.

In response, Hamilton Masakadza and Brendan Taylor put on 88 for the opening wicket. The subsequent batsmen were also doing it comfortably as half-centuries from Taylor, and Craig Ervine were the nucleus of a clinical run-chase that ended with six wickets to spare. Raina used seven bowlers in total during the defence none of who could pose a real threat. The 34-year old captained India in 12 ODI games, losing five of those.

Sachin Tendulkar – 23 years, 126 days

Sachin Tendulkar is India’s youngest captain so far and easily one of the greatest batsmen in the world, being the custodian of numerous records. The Master Blaster’s first captained his nation in a One-day international in 1996 against Sri Lanka in Colombo. However, it resulted in an awful note. Sachin Tendulkar played a typical captain’s knock of 110 off 138 deliveries.

Mohammad Azharuddin was the only other batsman to cross 20, chipping in with 58 as the tourists managed 226 in 50 overs. But Sanath Jayasuriya mowed a century off his own as him, Romesh Kaluwitharana and Arvinda de Silva got Sri Lanka home comfortably. Tendulkar also claimed the lone wicket of Kaluwitharana for 49. The 47-year old has a forgettable captaincy record in ODIs with India losing 42 of 72 games under him.

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