Rohit Sharma Vs Virat Kohli: Test Captaincy Comparison After India Slip To 3rd In ICC Rankings

As India slipped to No. 3 in the ICC Test Rankings, it has led to scrutiny of Rohit Sharma's captaincy, with comparisons drawn to Virat Kohli's leadership.

India have dropped to the third spot in the latest ICC Test Rankings for teams after their 3-1 loss to Australia in the recently-concluded BGT 2024-25.

Source : PTI

Team India have slipped to the third spot in the latest ICC Test Rankings for teams after their 3-1 loss to Australia in the recently-concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25. It has resulted in Rohit Sharma’s captaincy coming under intense scrutiny as India also crashed out of the contention to make the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 cycle final. Additionally, Rohit’s place in the Indian team is also being questioned due to his poor batting form, let alone his leadership.

Interestingly, Rohit missed the first IND vs AUS Test in Perth to be with his family for the birth of his child and voluntarily sat out the fifth Test, stepping aside to allow another player an opportunity amidst his ongoing poor form.

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The IND vs AUS series isn't the first instance of India faltering under Rohit's captaincy. Earlier, the team suffered an even bigger setback ahead of the BGT, enduring a rare clean sweep in a three-match Test series at home against New Zealand—a feat last seen in 2000.

Australia currently lead the ICC Test Team Rankings with 126 rating points while South Africa are second with 112 points, followed by India at third with 109 points.  

Latest ICC Test Team Rankings

Position	Team	Rating	Points
1	Australia	126	4,531
2	South Africa	112	3,355
3	India	109	4,248
4	England	105	4,815
5	New Zealand	97	3216
6	Sri Lanka	87	2436
7	Pakistan	83	2237
8	West Indies	75	2184
9	Bangladesh	65	1884
10	Ireland	26	131

Rohit Sharma vs Virat Kohli Test Captaincy Stats Comparison

While under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy, India clinched their first ICC title in 11 years when they won the ICC T20 World Cup 2024, their recent Test stats dropped considerably.

Rohit Sharma's Test captaincy record:  

Matches: 24  
Won: 12  
Innings: 42  
Lost: 9  
Draw: 3  
Tied: 0  
Win percentage: 50%  

India’s recent failures have also prompted the critics and fans alike to compare the Team’s performance under Rohit’s captaincy to that of under Virat Kohli’s captaincy from 2014 to 2022. 

Under Virat’s leadership, India won 40 of the 68 matches that he captained the team in and lost only 17 matches while drawing 11 matches, with an impressive win% of 58.82. They also held the top rank in the ICC Test Team rankings for six consecutive years from 2018-2024.

Overseas,  India played 37 matches, winning 16 and losing 15 while drawing 6 matches with Virat as captain.

Virat Kohli as Indian Test Captain (2014–2022):  

Matches: 68  
Won: 40  
Lost: 17  
Tied: 0  
Draw: 11  
No Result: 0  
Win/Loss Ratio: 2.35  
Win Percentage: 58.82%  
Loss Percentage: 25%  
No Result Percentage: 0%  
Result Percentage: 70.17%  

In India 

Matches: 31  
Won: 24  
Lost: 2  
Tied: 0  
Draw: 5  
No Result: 0  
Win Percentage: 77.42%  
Loss Percentage: 6.45%  

Overseas

Matches: 37  
Won: 16  
Lost: 15  
Tied: 0  
Draw: 6  
No Result: 0  
Win Percentage: 43.24%  
Loss Percentage: 40.54%