Failing the test: Five Captains with the longest losing streak in Tests

Losing consecutive matches is something any captain would like to avoid while being in the service. However, due to many factors working against them, some of the captains end up losing way too many in succession. On most occasions, the strength of the team has played a role in putting their captain(s) in some unwanted records list. Here are the top five losing streaks in Test cricket for a captain:

Habibul Bashar – 8:

Habibul Bashar was the captain of Bangladesh when they ended the world record losing streak of 21 Test matches and also ended up leading Bangladesh to their maiden Test win. However, under his captaincy, Bangladesh did lose eight successive matches in this format between 2005 and 2006. A rain-affected draw in 2007 against India put an end to his losing streak as captain.

#OnThisDay in 2005, Bangladesh recorded their first Test victory!

Habibul Bashar’s side won the Chattogram Test, beating Zimbabwe by 226 runs ? pic.twitter.com/HrEU0uqrgB

— ICC (@ICC) January 10, 2020

Shivnarine Chanderpaul – 8:

Shivnarine Chanderpaul led West Indies during one of their toughest phases in Test cricket. He led the Caribbean team in 14 Tests out of which they ended up winning only one and lost as many as 10. Chanderpaul’s maiden Test win as captain came in the 5th match but it was followed up by eight successive defeats which included series defeats in Sri Lanka, Australia and New Zealand before a rain-affected draw.

Mohammad Ashraful – 8:

Mohammad Ashraful finds a place in the list of losing most consecutive Test matches as captain having lost each of his first eight matches. Ashraful led Bangladesh in 13 Tests out of which his team lost as many as 12 games while another match ended in a draw. Rain played an important role in the draw else Ashraful’s record could have been 13 defeats in a row.

Khaled Mahmud – 9:

Khaled Mahmud had not tasted success as captain in Test cricket where he featured in nine matches as captain. The all-rounder from Bangladesh ended up losing all those nine matches making his captaincy career the 2nd longest with a 100% losing record. Mahmud is also one of the two players to lose each of their first nine Tests as skipper.

Khaled Mashud – 12:

Bangladesh keeper-captain Khaled Mashud holds the record for most consecutive matches lost as captain in Test cricket and also holds the record for leading in most Test matches with 100% losing record as a skipper. Under his captaincy, Bangladesh played 12 Test matches between 2001 and 2004 which is part of Bangladesh’s World record losing streak of 21 Tests.