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5 Indian IPL Captains Who Never Got A Chance To Lead The Country

Aashay Chopade

MS Dhoni with Ravindra Jadeja (Source:@WisdenIndia/X.com)MS Dhoni with Ravindra Jadeja (Source:@WisdenIndia/X.com)

India is a country with full of talent and it was the Indian Premier League that arrived in 2008 which proved to be a game-changer for the rich talent who were itching to showcase their talent. Many players made it to the Indian team as a result of their strong performances in the IPL and also some of them got a chance to showcase their leadership.

The leadership some of them showed in the IPL paved way for them donning the Indian captain's role in future while there have been some who have not been that lucky. Some quality Indian players have led their respective franchises over the years, but have not got a chance to lead the country, and in this article will will take a look at three of those big names.

1. Shreyas Iyer

Shreyas Iyer has been pretty successful as IPL captain. He is the only Indian to win IPL as captain, but has never led India in any format. He first led Delhi Capitals in 2018 season and then took his side to the final of the 2020 season. 

The right-handed batter then led Kolkata Knight Riders in 2022 and 2024 seasons, and took them to the title win in the last season. He has captained in 70 IPL matches and has won 40 games while his team has lost 29 matches under his leadership. 

One game has produced no result, and if his performances continue in the same vein, we might see him captaining Indian in atleast ODI cricket where he is a regular member.

2. Sanju Samson

The Rajasthan Royals skipper has also not led India in any format so far. He is been captaining Rajasthan Royals since 2021, and took them to the final of IPL in the 2022 season. Overall, he has led Rajasthan Royals in 61 matches with wins in 31 matches and losses in 29 encounters. One game has produced no result and Samson has also matured a lot as a batter with leadership responsibility.

The 2024 IPL season was Sanju Samson's best as a batter and that maturity has percolated at the international level too, where he has scored three T20I centuries in recent times. He is rising as a cricketer, but the captaincy at the international level has eluded him and it would be interesting to see how his captaincy future pans out.

3. Ravindra Jadeja

Ravindra Jadeja has been a star performer for India across formats for more than a decade. The all-rounder has seen a lot of transition over the years at the international level and in IPL, but has not been able to make his mark as captain.

For a long time, he was touted as MS Dhoni's successor for CSK, but when he finally got a chance in the 2020 season, he could not make an impact. In the 8 matches as captain, Ravindra Jadeja was able to win only two matches and was removed as skipper midway during the season.

Five years have passed on since, and Jadeja has never led India and CSK again, and would be one of those star players who will end up his career without captaining the country.

4. Yuvraj Singh

The swashbuckling left-handed batter is one of the legends of white-ball cricket. The man played a big role in India winning the T20 World Cup 2007 and 50-over World Cup in 2011, but could never lead India. Yuvraj Singh was the captain of Kings XI Punjab in the 2008 season and captained in 43 matches in IPL. He won and loss the same number of games as captain - 21 while the one game produced no result.

He was also the vice-captain of the Indian side in T20 World Cup 2007 and other bilateral series, but unfortunately never got a chance to captain the country.

5. Ravichandran Ashwin

The off-spinner is another superstar who never got a chance to lead India. He is known for his strategies and cricketing brain, and many consider him one of the sharpest mind in cricket. He has captained Kings XI Punjab in the 2018 and 2019 seasons and won 12 matches as a leader out of 28 games. He lost sixteen matches, and mostly many of them were because Ashwin tended to experiment a lot with his plethora of ideas.

Ashwin has been a stalwart in Test cricket for India and many feel that he could have been a great captain in the longest format.