India National Cricket Team: India is a cricket-loving nation and there’s no doubt about this fact. We may have Hockey as our national sport but Its Cricket which is the most loved and cherished sports across every corner of the country. Having said that, we can also Ascertain that the Successful Journey of our very own Indian Cricket team, since it came into Existence, contributed big time in making this sports immensely popular amongst Indian Fans.
| Month | Tournament Details |
| Jul – Aug 2023 | India Tour of West Indies 2023 Matches: 2 Test, 3 ODI, 3 T20 Venue: West Indies |
| September 2023 | Asia Cup 2023 Matches: 12 ODI and 1 Final match Venue: Sri Lanka | Status: On Schedule |
| Sep – Dec 2023 | Australia Tour of India 2023 Matches: 3 ODI, 5 T20 Venue: India |
| Oct – Nov 2023 | ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 Matches: 48 ODI Venue: India |
| Dec 2023 –Jan 2024 | India Tour of South Africa 2023-24 Matches: 2 Test, 3 ODI, 3 T20 Venue: South Africa |
| Jan – Mar 2024 | India Tour of England 2024 Matches: 5 Test Venue: England |
| July 2024 | India Tour of Sri Lanka 2024 Matches: 3 ODI, 3 T20 Venue: Sri Lanka |
| Sep – Oct 2024 | Bangladesh Tour of India 2024 Matches: 2 Test, 3 T20 Venue: India |
| Oct – Nov 2024 | New Zealand Tour of India 2024 Matches: 3 Test Venue: India |
| Nov 2024 –Jan 2025 | India Tour of Australia 2024-25 Matches: 5 Test Venue: Australia |
| Jan – Feb 2025 | India Tour of England 2025 Matches: 3 ODI, 5 T20 Venue: England |
| Jun – Aug 2025 | India Tour of England 2025 Matches: 5 Test Venue: England |
| August 2025 | India Tour of Bangladesh 2025 Matches: 3 ODI, 3 T20 Venue: Bangladesh |
| September 2025 | Asia Cup 2025 Matches: 13 Matches Venue: TBD |
| October 2025 | West Indies Tour of India 2025 Matches: 2 Test Venue: India |
| Oct – Nov 2025 | India Tour of Australia 2025 Matches: 3 ODI, 5 T20 Venue: Australia |
| Nov – Dec 2025 | South Africa Tour of India 2025 Matches: 2 Test, 3 ODI, 5 T20 Venue: India |
| January 2026 | New Zealand Tour of India 2026 Matches: 3 ODI, 5 T20 Venue: India |
| June 2026 | Afghanistan Tour of India 2026 Matches: 1 Test, 3 ODI Venue: India |
| July 2026 | England Tour of India 2026 Matches: 3 ODI, 5 T20 Venue: India |
| August 2026 | India Tour of Sri Lanka 2026 Matches: 2 Test Venue: Sri Lanka |
| September 2026 | India Tour of Afghanistan 2026 Matches: 3 T20 Venue: Afghanistan |
| Sep – Oct 2026 | West Indies Tour of India 2026 Matches: 3 ODI, 5 T20 Venue: India |
| Oct – Nov 2026 | India Tour of New Zealand 2026 Matches: 2 Test, 3 ODI, 5 T20 Venue: New Zealand |
| December 2026 | Sri Lanka Tour of India 2026 Matches: 3 ODI, 3 T20 Venue: India |
| Jan – Feb 2027 | Australia Tour of India 2027 Matches: 5 Test Venue: India |
Indian Commentators for World Cup
India National Cricket Team Squad for ICC World Test Championship 2023 Final.
Squad:
- Rohit Sharma (captain)
- Ravichandran Ashwin
- KS Bharat
- Shubman Gill
- Ravindra Jadeja
- Virat Kohli
- Ishan Kishan
- Cheteshwar Pujara
- Axar Patel
- Ajinkya Rahane
- Mohammad Shami
- Mohammad Siraj
- Shardul Thakur
- Jaydev Unadakt
- Umesh Yadav
Standby Players:
- Yashasvi Jaiswal
- Mukesh Kumar
- Suryakumar Yadav
India National Cricket Team All-Time Records and Stats
Team wins, losses, draws and ties
India played 563 Test matches resulting in 168 Win, 174 Lost, 220 Draw, and 1 Tie
| Opponent | Matches | Won | Lost | Tied | Draw | % Won | % Lost | % Drawn |
| Afghanistan | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 0 | 0 |
| Australia | 102 | 30 | 43 | 1 | 28 | 29.41 | 42.16 | 27.45 |
| Bangladesh | 11 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 81.81 | 0 | 18.18 |
| England | 131 | 31 | 50 | 0 | 50 | 23.84 | 37.69 | 38.46 |
| New Zealand | 62 | 22 | 13 | 0 | 27 | 35.48 | 20.96 | 43.54 |
| Pakistan | 59 | 9 | 12 | 0 | 38 | 15.25 | 20.33 | 64.4 |
| South Africa | 42 | 15 | 17 | 0 | 10 | 35.71 | 40.47 | 23.8 |
| Sri Lanka | 46 | 22 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 47.83 | 15.21 | 36.96 |
| West Indies | 98 | 22 | 30 | 0 | 46 | 22.44 | 30.61 | 46.93 |
| Zimbabwe | 11 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 63.63 | 18.18 | 18.18 |
| Total | 563 | 168 | 174 | 1 | 220 | 29.89 | 30.78 | 39.15 |
First Test series wins
| Opponent | Year of first Home win | Year of first Away win |
| Afghanistan | 2018 | YTP |
| Australia | 1979 | 2018 |
| Bangladesh | 2017 | 2000 |
| England | 1961 | 1971 |
| Ireland | YTP | YTP |
| New Zealand | 1955 | 1967 |
| Pakistan | 1953 | 2004 |
| South Africa | 1996 | – |
| Sri Lanka | 1986 | 1993 |
| West Indies | 1978 | 1971 |
| Zimbabwe | 1993 | 2005 |
First Test match wins
| Opponent | Home | Away | ||
| Venue | Year | Venue | Year | |
| Afghanistan | Bangalore | 2018 | YTP | YTP |
| Australia | Kanpur | 1959 | Melbourne | 1978 |
| Bangladesh | Hyderabad | 2017 | Dhaka | 2000 |
| England | Chennai | 1952 | The Oval | 1971 |
| Ireland | YTP | YTP | YTP | YTP |
| New Zealand | Mumbai | 1955 | Dunedin | 1968 |
| Pakistan | Delhi | 1953 | Multan | 2004 |
| South Africa | Ahmedabad | 1996 | Johannesburg | 2006 |
| Sri Lanka | Nagpur | 1986 | Colombo (SSC) | 1993 |
| West Indies | Kolkata | 1974 | Port of Spain | 1971 |
| Zimbabwe | Delhi | 1993 | Bulawayo | 2001 |
Major Honours Won by India National Cricket Team
- Cricket World Cup Champions – 1983, 2011
- ICC T20 World Cup Champions – 2007
- ICC Champions Trophy Champions – 2002, 2013
- Asia Cup Champions – 1984, 1988, 1990/91, 1995, 2010, 2016, 2018
- World Championship of Cricket Champions – 1985
- Hero Cup Champions – 1993
A number of Historical facts quote that Cricket was First Brought on Indian Soil by some European Merchants in the early 18th century and First Indian Cricket Club Came into Existence at that time only in the city of Kolkata. India, as a country was mostly dominated by the British rule for the next century and It, was by the year 1932 only that India became the Sixth country to get the Test match Status and played their First match against the English Cricket team at the “Mecca of Cricket”, Lords.
The Journey for Indian Cricket was not a “Joy Ride” at all and for the next few decades, Indian team get to face defeats in almost every match they played and it was by the year 1952, when Team India tasted their First ever victory in the international Cricketing arena by defeating England cricket team at the Madras cricket club in 1952.
The Beginning of India National Cricket Team
For a game that was invented by the British, Cricket has seen a lot of history around the world since its inception. But perhaps none of that has been as significant as the chapter of Indian’s fight for Freedom and existence as a free nation. Significant because the British brought the game to the Indian subcontinent and into the country, but when they had to leave in 1947, Cricket had already become an integral part of the Indian Culture.
The average Indian’s tryst with Cricket began under the rule of the British, but the love of the game soon caught the heart of the men. For the oppressed and suffering masses, the game brought a wonderful respite and tugged at their imagination and free will. By 1848, India had its first cricket club, the Orient Cricket Club in Bombay, formed by the Parsi Community. Soon enough the world spread and by the turn of the century, Indians were playing an annual quadrangular cricket tournament with Europeans! That was when a few Indians even made it into the English Cricket Team, such was their abilities on the field. At least two of them – Ranjitsinhji and KS Duleepsinhji would later go on to attain legendary status in the country.
The Birth of a Cricketing Nation
Even though Indians were gaining ground in their quest for cricketing success, it was not until 1932 that India first came to the notice of the cricketing world, by attaining Test Status and playing against the English Cricket Team. Even though the initial phase was filled with defeats, salvation was just around the corner. In 1952, India got the sweet taste of victory for the first time in a cricket match, against old foes England. They even won a test series – their first ever – against the same opponents, in the same year.
Now that the Indians had tasted victory, the team yearned for more and strived for excellence in the field. But the team was not competent enough to continue their winning run and succumbed to back to back defeats in the next few years. However, the Indians would not let the few setbacks dampen their spirit; the team was relentless in its pursuit of victory and was improving by leaps and bounds with every passing game. They say that the difference between dreams and accomplishments in purely desire and it was the desire of the India National Cricket Team that led them to achieve history by the end of the 1960s.
Creating History
When India visited New Zealand in 1968, everyone expected the Asian Nation to continue the trend and succumb to one more defeat. The pitches were rumored to support seamers, but Indian Skipper Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi had taken a spin-heavy team for the series. In the end, the legendary Indian Captain’s decision turned to be a masterstroke, as the Indian team rode the brilliant spin bowling of Bishen Singh Bedi and Erapalli Prasanna to make history. They won the first game, their first ever test win away from home, and ended up winning the Series 3-1. It was India’s first overseas test victory, a landmark moment that made the whole world sit up and take notice. But it was just the first step in India’s meteoric rise in the world of cricket.
The Rise and Rise in the 1970s
After their first series win away from home, India was fast developing into a powerful team, which had the hallmark of champions embedded deep within. The squad had been injected with the right dose of fresh blood, while also retaining the adequate amounts of wise old experienced heads to form a stellar backbone. It was the time of a young man named Sunil Gavaskar, who had Chandrasekhar and Farokh Engineer, among others, for company. The team had a stellar captain in Ajit Wadekar, a wily and shrewd tactician who was a brilliant leader on the field.
The India National Cricket Team continued their brilliant overseas run by defeating the mighty West Indies in their backyard in 1971, riding the impressing batting performances of Gavaskar and Sardesai. The team went on to defeat their old foes England both at home and away, in the next couple of years.
The Emergence of the One Day Internationals
It was during the 1970s that the world was first introduced to the One Day Internationals. However, India’s performance in the shorter format of the game was unimpressive, as they succumbed to heavy defeats and even failed to cross the first round in the first ever Cricket World Cup. They failed to improve their efforts on the field in the build up to the second world cup and here too they were eliminated before the second round.
Part of the reasons for India’s failure was the defensive approach of their batsmen. The Indian team had failed to warm up to the shorter format of the game, but their dominance in the tests continued. India were almost unbeatable at home, defeating the likes of West Indies and New Zealand in memorable games. And as the end of the decade approached, India was on the cusp of her most iconic piece of Cricketing history.
By 1980s, the defensive mentality of the Indian batsmen had begun to shed, thanks to the emergence of attacking crickets in the team. And it would prepare the stage for the moment that changed Cricket in India.
1983 World Cup win
The 1983 World Cup saw an entirely different India, who were solid in their batting and impressive in their bowling too. There was also a few brilliant allrounders in the team, however, the one who took the tournament by storm was the legendary Indian Skipper Kapil Dev. Brilliant with the bat and nifty with the ball, the man from Punjab became a part of the folklore in the country when he singlehandedly lifted his country to the finals of the World Cup. India went on to lift the World Cup by defeating defending Champions West Indies in the final. Cricket became more than just a game, it turned into a religion, as people ate, spelled and dreamt about Cricket.
The World Cup win kick-started a period of immense success for the team, as India would also win the Asia cup in 1984 and the World Championship of Cricket in 1985. It would ultimately turn out to be a hugely successful decade for Indian Cricket, as the National team won back to back ODI series against Australia, England, Sri Lanka, New Zealand and West Indies in a span of 4 years. Another huge achievement was winning the 1988 Sharjah Cup, which proved that Indian Cricket was truly on the rise. And that culminated in the emergence of a young boy by the end of the decade, who would go on to become the greatest batsman ever.
The Era of Sachin Tendulkar
In November 1989, during the test game between India and Pakistan, a teenager made his debut for the India National Cricket Team – he was just 16 years and 205 days old. Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar immediately caught the attention of cricket fans worldwide and showed early signs of greatness. It was a time when Indian cricket was welcoming new changes, with a host of young blood replacing older stalwarts. In the next few years, Tendulkar was joined by Anil Kumble, Saurav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, who would go on to form the four pillars of the team. Other notable players in the mix were Skipper Mohammad Azharuddin, Javagal Srinath.
The 90s was a hugely successful era for Indian cricket, as the team won many major series. However, it was initially a team that was hugely dependent on Tendulkar and the master blaster would often single-handedly win them games. Never the less, the team had developed into a highly efficient entity, as was evident when they defeated the mighty Australians at home. However, the biggest test of the team’s character was just around the corner.
The Scandal that Rocked Indian Cricket
After the 1999 Cricket World Cup, where the team could not even reach the semi-finals. It was clear that Indian Cricket needed radical changes. Tendulkar was appointed the new captain, however, the move backfired as both his batting and the performance of the team suffered. It was then that Sourav Ganguly was given the responsibility to lead the team and the Prince of Kolkata would go on to revolutionize the team. But before that Ganguly had to steady the ship when Indian Cricket was caught it a major storm.
The match-fixing scandal that rocked Indian Cricket left a bad taste in the mouth. Former Skipper Mohammad Azharuddin was banned for life, while fellow International Ajay Jadeja received a five-year ban. It was perhaps the most embarrassing moment in the history of the game in India, as never before had the image of the country been tarnished on the International Sporting stage. Radical changes were required in the setup and it was here that the four pillars of the team – Tendulkar, Ganguly, Kumble, and Dravid – stood strong and helped usher in the new era.
The Turnaround
Ganguly understood that the new age required influx of fresh blood to rebuild the team and as such, he invested heavily in youth. Young players like Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif gave Indian cricket a new edge in the field and the team went on to achieve great success at the start of the new millennium. India defeated almost all the major test playing nations marking one of the finest phases of its cricketing history under the leadership of Ganguly. This included the infamous Natwest ODI Series final, where India rode the performance of Yuvraj and Kaif to secure a memorable comeback win, prompting Ganguly to remove his vest and swing it from the balcony at Lord’s. This gesture would go on to define India’s dominance and fighting spirit and would become a symbol of the nation’s status as a force in the Cricketing World.
India then bulldozed her way into the 2003 ICC World Cup final, only to come up short against Australia. However, it was the signs of things to come, as the defeat would eventually lead to another spell of radical changes, with old guards being replaced by emerging young talents like Dhoni and Suresh Raina. The team entered the 2007 World Cup as favorites but failed to reach the second round.
Despite the failure to win the coveted trophy, 2007 would remain etched in the hearts of Indian Cricket fans forever. In the inaugural T20 World Cup held in the same year in South Africa, India became the first ever T20 Champions, defeating Pakistan in the finals. It was the start of a fantastic period for the team under the new leadership of MS Dhoni, which would eventually result in the team winning the 2011 ICC World Cup at home. India created history by becoming the first team ever to win the world cup at home.
The Temporary Dip in form and end of an Era
After the world cup win, India’s form slumped, which resulted in the team losing a test series 4-0 at England, before they were also defeated 4-0 away at Australia, at the start of 2013. The year would pile further misery on the team, as they were defeated by both England and bitter rivals Pakistan at home. The team then failed to qualify for the 2012 Asia Cup, while also getting knocked out of the 2012 T20 World Cup.
When Tendulkar retired in November 2013, it marked the end of the reign of the fabled four of Indian Cricket, as Ganguly, Dravid and Kumble had retired earlier. Tendulkar’s departure left a void in the India National Cricket team, but the team soon showed the world that it was capable of standing on its own.
Build up to the Modern Times
2013 was the year that marked a turnaround once again for the team, as Dhoni’s men defeated Australia 4-0 at home and also won the ICC Champions Trophy. It would turn out to be the platform for the modern era, as soon enough new faces would emerge who would take over the mantle and lead the team forward. Most prominent among them, perhaps, was Virat Kohli.
When Dhoni suddenly retired from test cricket in 2014, it was Kohli who was elected as the next Captain. Since then, India has slowly emerged into a super power once again, and is favourites once again ahead of this year’s World Cup. Virat Kohli is leading the team this year and is joined by current stalwarts like Rohit Sharma, MS Dhoni, Shikhar Dhawan, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvaneswar Kumar and Yuzvendra Chahal. With the right mix of young blood and experience once again, India Cricket Team has the right ingredients in the team to make history once again.
Famous Indian Cricketing Legends
Sunil Gavaskar
Famous with the name “Little Master” Sunil Gavaskar has been regarded as One of the best Test Cricketers in the World’s history along with one of the greatest test openers of all time. He was the first test cricketer to score 10000 runs in the Cricket history and his record of most centuries (34) was later broken by another Indian Legend Sachin Tendulkar.
Gundappa Viswanath
Gundappa Viswanath was one of the few players who has taken it all by themselves during the struggling years of Indian Cricket team in the late 70s. He was one of the outstanding performers who went on to score more than 6000 runs in 91 matches for the Indian cricket team.
Sourav Ganguly
Sourav Ganguly was amongst India’s best captains till date and it has been widely said that the team and players which brought the World cup glory home to India were nurtured under his captaincy only. Being famous as an aggressive captain, Ganguly was also the second most run-getter for India in ODIs after Sachin Tendulkar.
Virat Kohli
If there’s one player which can be termed as a modern-day cricketing legend, It’s Virat Kohli who has made almost every cricket lover his fan with some memorable Cricketing performances. His big list of records includes the fastest ODI century by an Indian, fastest batsman to score 5000 runs in ODIs along with the fastest man to score 10 ODI centuries. He is currently holding the top spots in both ODI and test matches and one of the only players to be expected to break Sachin Tendulkar’s record for most runs and centuries.