The Indian cricket team has struggled overseas a lot, particularly while playing test matches in the 80s and the 90s. The situation improved quite significantly in the early 2000s; however India has still been losing test series quite frequently overseas and has not been able to achieve the consistency that they would have liked.
Here are the 4 Indian captains who lost most no. of Test matches overseas –
#1 MS Dhoni
MS Dhoni is the only captain in the history of the game who has won all three ICC major white ball tournaments in his captaincy, but he was not quite successful as a Test captain as he was as a white ball captain.
Dhoni lost 14 Test matches overseas which included two infamous clean-sweeps in England and Australia in 2011-12.
#2 Mohammed Azharuddin
Mohammed Azharuddin, who captained India for most parts of the 90s, lost 10 Test matches overseas.
However, India, during that time, was struggling overall as a team itself and not just overseas. They were struggling both in terms of skill and consistency. There was no core group and the players, who were playing, barring a few, were not quite world class.
#3 Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli being in this list is a little bit surprising because the Indian team has performed really well in Test matches overseas since Kohli has taken over. He is the first Indian captain ever to win a Test series in Australia and his team gave South Africa a run for their money as well when they toured there in 2017-18.
However, the thing with Kohli is that he plays a very aggressive brand of cricket and in the process, he risks losing a few Test matches. There are not too many draws under Kohli. Either India wins or the opposition has its way.
That’s the reason why despite performing decently, India has lost 10 Test matches under Kohli while playing overseas.
#4 MAK Pataudi
MAK Pataudi, who captained India in the 60s, also lost 10 Test matches overseas in his captaincy. However, India was not the strongest team in the world at that time by any means and the fact that they lost a lot overseas was not quite surprising.
Pataudi, who was given the charge of the Indian team in 1962, captained overseas for the last time in 1968. He was the first Indian captain to guide India to a Test series win in New Zealand.
