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Worst starts by India men's T20I captains: Where Shreyas Iyer ranks among MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and others originally appeared on Cricket News. Add Cricket News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- Shreyas Iyer suffers sixth loss in seven games, fastest for any India T20I captain.
- India lose No.1 T20I ranking and drop second consecutive bilateral series.
- Globally, captains from Pakistan and Bangladesh have endured similarly rough starts.
Shreyas Iyer's rocky start becomes the worst ever for an Indian T20I captain
What was meant to signal a fresh chapter for Indian T20 cricket has instead turned into one of its most turbulent beginnings. Shreyas Iyer took over the reins from Suryakumar Yadav with hopes of building on India's World Cup triumph, but that transition has proven far rockier than anyone anticipated.
Six completed matches into his captaincy across tours of Ireland and England, Iyer remains without a single win. That record extends India's losing run with a 56-run defeat in Southampton.
The result also cost India their number one spot in the T20I team rankings, handing the top position over to England.
They were put to chase a daunting 258 in the fifth T20I for a consolation win. However, the chase unravelled through repeated clusters of wickets, despite batting on what was arguably the best surface of the entire series.
MORE: 'One of the best players in the world': Moeen Ali suggests India bring back T20 World Cup-winning captain Suryakumar Yadav after disastrous T20I campaign in UK
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How Shreyas Iyer's start compares to past Indian captains
The Southampton defeat marked Iyer's sixth loss in just seven matches as captain, making it the quickest any Indian skipper has reached that unwanted tally.
Virat Kohli took 12 matches to suffer his fifth defeat; MS Dhoni needed 15; Hardik Pandya required 16. In comparison, both Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav took as many as 31 matches to reach that same mark.
MORE: Harry Brook's side ends world champions India's 1,605-day reign as No. 1 ranked T20I side
| Serial No. | Captain | Tenure | Matches to 5th loss (or early record if fewer than 5 losses) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Virender Sehwag | 2006 | Never lost (1W in only match) | Won by six wickets vs South Africa on debut |
| 2 | MS Dhoni | 2007–16 | 15 matches | First five: 3W-1L-1NR at the 2007 World Cup |
| 3 | Suresh Raina | 2010–11 (interim) | Never lost (3W in 3 matches) | |
| 4 | Ajinkya Rahane | 2015 (interim) | 1W-1L in only 2 matches | vs Zimbabwe |
| 5 | Virat Kohli | 2017–21 | 12 matches | First five: 3W-2L |
| 6 | Shikhar Dhawan | 2021 (stand-in) | 1W-2L in only 3 matches | vs Sri Lanka |
| 7 | Rohit Sharma | 2021–24 | 31 matches | First five: 5W-0L |
| 8 | Rishabh Pant | 2022 (stand-in) | 2W-2L-1NR in only 5 matches | vs South Africa, series drawn 2-2 |
| 9 | Hardik Pandya | 2022–23 | 16 matches | Started 2W (vs Ireland); full tenure 10W-5L-1T in 16 |
| 10 | KL Rahul | 2022 | Never lost (1W in only match) | vs Afghanistan, Asia Cup |
| 11 | Jasprit Bumrah | 2023 | Never lost (2W in 2 matches) | vs Ireland |
| 12 | Ruturaj Gaikwad | 2023 | Never lost (2W-0L-1NR in 3 matches) | Asian Games gold, Hangzhou |
| 13 | Suryakumar Yadav | 2023–26 | 31 matches | First five: 4W-1L |
| 14 | Shubman Gill | 2024 | 4W-1L in only 5 matches | Lost opener to Zimbabwe, won next four |
| 15 | Shreyas Iyer | 2026–present | 6 matches | Fastest to five losses; only NR came in between |
How does Shreyas Iyer fare when compared to global records?
While Iyer's start stands as the toughest ever for an Indian T20I captain, similar difficult beginnings have occurred elsewhere in the sport.
Pakistan's Mohammad Rizwan lost his opening four matches as captain and was removed from the role before even reaching a fifth game.
Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan had to wait until his seventh match to register his first win, meaning he endured six consecutive winless games.
Shaheen Shah Afridi, Thisara Perera, Brendan Taylor and Matthew Wade also all failed to win any of their opening four T20Is as captains, a group Iyer had already joined before his losing streak extended further in Bristol.
The BCCI has already confirmed that they would hold a review meeting after the ODI series concludes, and it remains to be seen if the board continues to back Iyer after this massive debacle.
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