Among all the formats of cricket, T20 International is viewed as the least reliable form of the game. In just 20 overs, the change in rhythm takes place very quickly, and a single over can decide the fate of the game. In every match, there can be many matches won even in the last over, and each delivery means a lot in making mistakes.
Thus, this ensures that it is one of the most difficult jobs for the captain to emerge successful in T20I cricket. While good leaders are able to build strong teams in due course, some of them have faced a tough start to their leadership journey. In fact, some of them had to wait for more than 6 matches before they could register their first win, and they had increasing stress from fans, selectors, and teammates.
Here are five such captains who could not win any of their first six T20Is.
Top 5 Captains Who Failed to Win Their First Six T20I Matches
5. Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh)
One of the most accomplished all-rounders the nation has ever produced, Bangladeshi cricket great Shakib Al Hasan had a torrid time when he first took over the reins as the skipper of T20 international cricket. He assumed leadership of Bangladesh's T20I side on 9 August 2009 in a single-match game against the West Indies in Basseterre. They were on the receiving end with 5 wickets, with their next game going the same way, New Zealand defeating them in Hamilton in February 2010.
The problems persisted during the 2010 ICC World Twenty20 in the West Indies, with Bangladesh losing against Pakistan and Australia. In the aftermath of the World Twenty20, Shakib resigned from captaincy.
On his comeback as Bangladesh's T20I captain in 2017, Shabik lost his first two matches and started the series badly against South Africa. Shabik could not win his first six as a T20I captain over two separate leadership periods of approximately eight years.
At last, Shabik was able to break the long streak of defeats in March 2018 when Bangladesh beat Sri Lanka in the Nidahas T20I Tri-Series held in Colombo.
4. Elton Chigumbura (Zimbabwe)
The former Zimbabwe international cricketer Elton Chigumbura did not have a great start as captain of the T20I cricket teams in the world either.
He began in June 2010 as captain of the T20I side but faced a defeat in his first two matches with India and also two more defeats against the South African team in September 2010.
Chigumbura returned as captain for a similar series against Pakistan in 2015 but unfortunately lost both of the matches, making it a total of a four-match losing streak.
However, on July 17, 2015, there finally came a positive result when Zimbabwe surprised everyone by defeating India in Harare, marking the first victory for Chigumbura as captain.
3. Brendan Taylor (Zimbabwe)
The other Zimbabwean skipper to make the list is former middle-order batsman and wicketkeeper Brendan Taylor. The then skipper led the team for the first time against Bangladesh in November 2006 and ended on the losing side by 43 runs. The subsequent years witnessed his team losing to the West Indies, South Africa, Pakistan, and New Zealand.
Even his torrid run as skipper was not halted over 6 matches, as he went on to lose his first 10 matches in charge of the team before registering his win. His first win came against the Bangladeshi team by 6 runs in the month of May 2013, and he recorded the longest losing streak for a T20I skipper before finally overcoming his jinx.
2. Thisara Perera (Sri Lanka)
Former Sri Lanka all-rounder Thisara Perera was a very effective fast bowler and a match-winner with both bat and ball at the international level, but managing teams was a totally different kettle of fish.
Perera was made T20I captain in October 2017 for an away series against Pakistan in the UAE. Sri Lanka was whitewashed in those three matches and lost two more to India later in the same year.
Perera faced yet another setback when he lost his sixth game in a row against India during the Nidahas Trophy held in March 2018.
Luck was finally on Perera's side that tournament as he picked up Sri Lanka's one and only win as captain with two wickets to spare against Bangladesh.
But his captaincy stats continued to reflect an underwhelming picture with a single victory out of a total of nine matches, eight of which ended in a loss for Sri Lanka in the T20I format.
1. Shreyas Iyer (India)
Currently, the top name in this undesirable list is Shreyas Iyer of India, who is experiencing one of the toughest beginnings of any Indian T20I captaincy. Shreyas Iyer was appointed captain of the Indian T20I team in June of 2026, replacing Suryakumar Yadav, and it was expected that he would do better than his predecessors; however, his debut series proved to be a disaster for India.
In the strings of misfortune during the T20I series against England, India lost four successive matches, thus extending Iyer's defeat series to six matches. Thus, he became the first T20I captain of India to lose all of his first six matches in the T20I circuit.
One of the surprises in this series of defeats is that India managed to win the toss in all six encounters. Despite the presence of a formidable team, India couldn’t manage to score a single win against either Ireland or England during this tough chapter of Iyer’s captaincy.
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