From Kapil Dev To Virat Kohli: India's Test Captaincy Journey In Sri Lanka Over Years

Team India is all set for a Test series in Sri Lanka. But how have our captains fared there over the years? From Kapil Dev to Virat Kohli, we look at who really is the boss on Lankan soil.

Team India lands in Lanka for the Test series.

The Indian cricket team has reached Sri Lanka for a two-match Test series. The first match will kick off on August 15 at the Galle International Stadium. Team India needs to win both matches to keep their World Test Championship (WTC) final hopes alive. This tour is a big test for the young captain, Shubman Gill, who is leading the Test side in Sri Lanka for the first time.

Kapil Dev led India's first Lanka tour in '85.

India has played eight Test series in Sri Lanka till now. The team first toured the island nation in 1985 under Kapil Dev's captaincy. In that two-match series, Sri Lanka won one match, and the other was a draw.

It took another eight years for India to get its first series win. In 1993, Mohammad Azharuddin's team won the series 1-0, with the second Test ending in a draw.

Even Ganguly couldn't conquer Sri Lanka in 2001.

Sourav Ganguly is famous for teaching India how to win abroad. But even under Dada's captaincy, India failed to win a Test series in Sri Lanka. During the 2001 three-match series, India won one match, but Sri Lanka took two, winning the series 2-1. 

The same story repeated in 2008 under Anil Kumble's leadership, with Sri Lanka again winning the series 2-1.

Dhoni's 2010 tour ended in a 1-1 series draw.

MS Dhoni's Team India went to Sri Lanka for a tour in 2010. Both teams won one match each in the two-match series, so it ended in a 1-1 draw. 

This means even a legendary captain like Mahendra Singh Dhoni joined the list of skippers who couldn't secure a Test series win on Sri Lankan soil.

King Kohli: The only captain with two series wins.

Virat Kohli's captaincy changed India's fortunes in Sri Lanka completely. Under his leadership, India won the series 2-1 in 2015. Then, in 2017, Kohli's team whitewashed Sri Lanka 3-0 on their own home ground. That 2017 tour was the last time India played a Test series there. 

Now, after a nine-year gap, a young Indian team is back. With legends like Kohli, Ashwin, and Rohit retired, it will be interesting to see how this new side handles Sri Lanka's turning tracks.