Captains with most wins in Duleep Trophy history
What's the story
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is all set to kick off its new domestic season with the Duleep Trophy from August 28. The tournament will be played in a zonal format this year after last season's round-robin structure. The six participating teams are North, South, West, East, Central, and North East. Ahead of the tournament, let's look at the captains with the most wins in Duleep Trophy history.
#1
Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan - 9 wins
This elite list is topped by none other than former Indian off-spinner Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan. He led South Zone 15 times across 1970 and 1979. The talisman is at par with Hanumant Singh in terms of most Duleep Trophy games as captain. Venkataraghavan returned with nine wins, five defeats, and a draw. Meanwhile, Venkataraghavan is also the fourth-highest wicket-taker in Duleep Trophy history (95 scalps at 23.66).
WC winners
Two WC winners on the list
In Kapil Dev and Sunil Gavaskar, we also have two legendary players from India's 1983 World Cup-winning squad on this list. Both veterans own eight Duleep Trophy wins as captains. While Kapil Dev led North Zone across 11 matches (1 defeat), Gavaskar accomplished this tally in just 10 matches (2 defeats) for West Zone. Meanwhile, Kapil scalped 34 wickets in the competition at 22.85. Gavaskar scored 1,859 runs at 61.96.
8 wins apiece
Other captains with eight wins
Chandu Borde of West Zone and Motganhalli Jaisimha of South Zone are the only other captains with eight wins in the Duleep Trophy. Though both stars led their respective teams 14 times, Jaisimha suffered just three defeats while Borde lost on four occasions. Coming to their numbers, Jaisimha recorded 1,456 runs at 45.50 and 31 wickets at 29.29 in the competition. Borde managed 646 runs at 40.37.