ENG vs IND 2025: India captain Shubman Gill’s woeful luck with the toss continued in the ongoing Test series against England. In the fifth Test, being played at The Oval, Gill lost the toss for the fifth time in the series. England stand-in captain Ollie Pope then opted to bowl first.
ENG vs IND 2025: Notably, this was the 15th consecutive time that an India men’s captain had lost the toss in international cricket. This was also the 14th instance of a team losing all five tosses in a five-Test series. Gill also became the fourth Indian captain to have lost all five tosses in a Test series.
ENG vs IND 2025: Despite the bad luck with the coin spin, Shubman Gill will hope to lead the side to victory and wrap up the series on a positive note.
ENG vs IND 2025: Let us now take a look at the other India captains to have lost all tosses in a five-Test series.
#4 ENG vs IND 2025: Lala Amarnath
ENG vs IND 2025: India captain Lala Amarnath lost all five tosses when the West Indies toured the country in 1948/49 for a five-Test series. The then-West Indies captain John Goddard was on the lucky side of all the coin tosses.
ENG vs IND 2025: The first Test, played at the Arun Jaitley Stadium (formerly Feroz Shah Kotla), the second Test at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai, and the third Test at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, all ended in draws. Finally, the fourth Test produced a result, with the West Indies winning by an innings and 193 runs in Chennai. The fifth Test in Mumbai also ended in a draw.
ENG vs IND 2025: As far as captaincy is concerned, Lala Amarnath led India in 15 Tests, winning two with six defeats and seven drawn matches.
#3 Kapil Dev
1983 World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev had bad luck with tosses just before the mega event. During their tour to the West Indies in 1982/83, he lost all five tosses in the series, with Clive Lloyd getting the better of his counterpart.
The first Test was played at Sabina Park, which the hosts won by four wickets. India managed to draw the second Test at Port of Spain. The third Test at Bourda, Georgetown, also ended in a draw. Clive Lloyd and his troops then won the fourth Test at Barbados by ten wickets, while the final game in Antigua was drawn.
Kapil Dev lost all the tosses and also the series 0-2. During his career, he led India in 34 Tests but did not have an impressive record as such. He won just four games with seven losses and 22 drawn results.
#2 Virat Kohli
The list also features former captain Virat Kohli, who was the last before Shubman Gill to have lost all five tosses in a Test series. During India’s tour to England in 2018, he did not win a single toss.
England won the first two Tests at Birmingham and Lord’s, respectively. India fought back with a 203-run win in the third Test at Nottingham. However, the hosts won the last two games at Southampton and The Oval, respectively, to clinch the series 4-1.
Notably, Kohli is India’s most successful Test captain. In 68 games as skipper, he led the team to 40 wins with a win percentage of 58.82. India lost only 17 of those 68 games, with 11 draws.
#1 Shubman Gill
Shubman Gill is the latest to join the unwanted list after losing the toss in the ongoing Oval Test. He failed to win a single toss in the entire series in his debut series as India’s Test captain.
England won the first Test by five wickets at Leeds to start the proceedings. The visitors bounced back with a massive 336-run triumph in the second Test at Birmingham. However, England won the third Test at Lord’s by 22 runs to take the lead.
The fourth Test in Manchester ended in a draw, leaving the hosts 2-1 ahead. The final Test thus becomes crucial for both teams. England will push for a win to seal the series, while Shubman Gill and Co. will fight for victory to draw level.
