Another series defeat for India under the captaincy of MS Dhoni. Now it is possible that BCCI will look to remove the present captain and find a new one. Let’s take a look at the top 5 contenders for Indian team captaincy.

1) Gautam Gambhir

Gautam Gambhir is an Indian opening batsman who can play in both a defensive and aggressive manner. Gambhir had also captained India in a series against the Kiwis, which India won 5-0. Gambhir also won the “ICC Test Player Of The Year” in 2009. He captained Kolkata Knight Riders to their first IPL title. Gambhir also played a crucial, match-building innings against Sri Lanka in the finals of 2011 World Cup, scoring 97 off 122 balls. He is a top contender for the captaincy.

Gambhir’s statistics -

—–              Mat     Runs      Avg      Hs       S.R       100     50     Wic

Test:-             54       4021     44.18  206    54.55      9        21      0

ODI:-             141     5096     40.44  150*  85.77    11       33      0

T20:-             37       932        27.41   75    119.02     0        7        0

2) Virender Sehwag

Virender Sehwag holds the record for the highest individual score by a batsman in an ODI. He scored 219 against West Indies. He is the only batsman to score both, a double century in ODI and a triple century in Test cricket. Sehwag captained India in two ODIs and a Test match. He is the only Indian batsman to be awarded with the “Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World” award in 2008, subsequently becoming the first player in the history to retain the award the next year. All these records make him a strong contender for Indian captaincy.

Sehwag’s statistics -

——             Mat     Runs      Avg       Hs       S.R       100     50     Wic

Test:-            102     8559    50.05   319    82.39     23     32       40

ODI:-             251     8273    35.05   219   104.33    15     38       96

T20:-             19        394       21.88    68     145.38     0        2        0

3) Virat Kohli

This man was a nightmare for bowlers in the previous year. Virat Kohli was also the captain of the victorious Indian U19 Cricket team in 2008. He was also the leading run scorer in the 2009 Emerging Players Tournament. Kohli scored 5 centuries in 2012 and was also declared the “ODI Cricketer Of  The Year” for 2012 at the ICC annual award function. He is the hot favourite for the Indian captaincy.

Kohli’s statistics -

——             Mat     Runs      Avg       Hs       S.R        100     50     Wic

Test:-           14        891       38.73   116    45.76       3         5          0

ODI:-           92        3892    50.54   183    86.29      13       21         2

T20:-           20       558       34.87    78*  130.37     0        4           3

4) Suresh Raina

The only Indian player to score a century in all the three formats of the game. Raina also captained Team India in a tri-series in Zimbabwe. He scored 101 in just 60 balls against South Africa, and by doing so, became the 3rd player after Chris Gayle and Brendon McCullum to score a century in all the 3 formats. He is also the leading run scorer in IPL history. He is also the vice-captain of Chennai Super Kings and hence, a strong contender for Indian captaincy.

Raina’s statistics -

——             Mat     Runs      Avg        Hs       S.R         100     50      Wic

Test:-           17        768       28.44    120     53.29      1          7          13

ODI:-           153      3760    35.47    116*   92.17      3          24       17

T20:-           36        840       33.60    101     136.14    1          3           5

5) Yuvraj Singh

Yuvraj was the hero of India’s World Cup campaign of 2011 as he was awarded the Man of the Series award. Yuvraj Singh is the only player to hit 6 sixes in an over in an international match between two Test playing nations. He captained Kings XI Punjab for two consecutive years.

Yuvraj’s statistics -

——             Mat     Runs      Avg        Hs       S.R         100     50      Wic

Test:-           40       1900    33.92     169     57.97      3         11         9

ODI:-           276     8062    37.32     139    87.49      13       49       109

T20:-           33        791       30.42      72     148.68     0         6         23