Oldest Players To Make Captaincy Debut For India In ODIs
Published - 18 Jul 2021, 07:34 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:49 AM
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Shikhar Dhawan on Sunday, July 18th, became the 25th player to captain India in ODI cricket as he led a second-string side against Sri Lanka in Colombo since both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are in England.
Ajit Wadekar was India’s first ODI captain leading the side in its first couple of ODIs in 1974. Kapil Dev won the maiden World Cup for India in 1983; MS Dhoni did it again in 2011.
Dhoni also holds the record for captaining India in most matches – 200 ODIs between 2007 and 2018. Current skipper, Virat Kohli, has spearheaded the side in 95 ODIs.
Oldest Players To Make Captaincy Debut For India In ODIs:
1. Shikhar Dhawan – 35 Years, 225 Days
Shikhar Dhawan made his ODI debut in 2010; eleven years later, aged 35 years and 225 days, he gets the opportunity to captain the country in the format and becomes the oldest one to do so.
The left-hander has scored 5977 ODI at 45.28 so far, and while his position in the T20I team is under threat, Dhawan is likely to hold his ODI spot till the 2023 World Cup.??He was the leading run-scorer in the 2013 Champions Trophy, helping the side to the title.
2. Mohinder Amarnath – 34 Years, 37 days
There was no result in the game after the first innings; Amarnath never captained in ODIs again. He was a big part of the World Cup-winning side with both bat and ball – 237 runs and 8 wickets.
3. Syed Kirmani – 33 Years, 353 Days
Similar to Amarnath, Syed Kirmani, with just a few days to go for his 34th birthday, also captained India for a single game – against West Indies in Guwahati in 1983, as Kapil Dev wasn’t available. The hosts lost the match by 6 wickets.
Syed Kirmani, a wicketkeeper-batsman from Chennai, featured in 49 ODIs and 88 Tests scoring 373 and 2759 runs respectively. He batted lower down the order and baled India out of trouble on several occasions.
4. Ajit Wadekar – 33 Years, 103 Days
At the age of 33 years and 103 days, Ajit Wadekar, an aggressive left-hand batsman from Mumbai, became India’s first ODI captain – in 1974 when he marshalled the side in a 2-match ODI series in England. India lost both the matches. He only played those two ODIs and registered a best of 67.
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