Not every cricketer’s long career takes the same route as only a couple of them get to lead their country in a record number of games while some remain playing under a high number of captains. In this article, we look at certain players who hold the record for playing under most captains. To be part of the list, some of them were benefited by their long careers, some by playing for a lot number of years while a few due to the country’s struggling phase. (Note: The number of captains played under does not include themselves.)

Here we look at the top five players who played under the most number of captains in International Cricket:

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-357334" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/CT_346245.jpg" alt="Shoaib Malik" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-357334" class="wp-caption-text">Shoaib Malik. (Photo by Nathan Stirk/Getty Images)</figcaption>

Shoaib Malik is one of the five players to have played under the captaincy of 15 or more players in International Cricket. Malik’s career is spanned across 21 years where he was part of various line-ups and different captains.

<a href="https://www.crictracker.com/if-you-think-virat-kohli-is-good-to-watch-have-a-look-at-babar-azam-bat-tom-moody/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Babar Azam</a>, during the recent home T20I series against Bangladesh, became the 15th captain in Internationals of Shoaib Malik. The all-rounder was captain of the Pakistan team in the mid-2000s where he led his country in three Tests, 41 ODI matches and 20 T20I games.

List of captains Shoaib Malik played under in International cricket:

Abdul Razzaq (1 ODI), Azhar Ali (25 ODIs), Babar Azam (2 T20Is), Inzamam-ul-Haq (13 Tests, 84 ODIs, 1 T20I), Misbah-ul-Haq (3 Tests, 24 ODIs, 8 T20Is), Mohammad Hafeez (2 ODIs, 20 T20Is), Mohammad Yousuf (5 Tests, 6 ODIs), Moin Khan (5 ODIs), Rashid Latif (1 Test, 12 ODIs), Salman Butt (3 Tests), Sarfaraz Ahmed (39 ODIs, 29 T20Is), Shahid Afridi (4 ODIs, 25 T20Is), Waqar Younis (2 Tests, 21 ODIs), Wasim Akram (5 ODIs), Younis Khan (5 Tests, 18 ODIs, 8 T20Is).

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-150470" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Abdul-Razzaq.jpg" alt="Abdul Razzaq of Pakistan" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-150470" class="wp-caption-text">Abdul Razzaq of Pakistan. (Photo by Hamish Blair/Getty Images)</figcaption>

Abdul Razzaq’s International career was a start-stop one as he featured in only 343 matches across 18 long years. During his longevity, Razzaq got an opportunity to play under as many as 15 captains in International Cricket. He also stood as Pakistan captain in one ODI when West Indies toured Pakistan in 2006. Razzaq played a majority of his career under the captaincy of <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/inzamam-ul-haq-laments-missing-out-on-a-chance-to-score-400-in-lahore-test-against-new-zealand-in-2002/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Inzamam-ul-Haq</a> who led him in a total of 105 International games – 19 Tests, 85 ODIs and 1 T20I.

Razzaq made his International debut under Wasim Akram way back in 1996 and last played a game at this level way back in 2013 when Mohammad Hafeez was the captain. Out of Razzaq’s 15 International captains, only 14 were while playing for Pakistan.

The other captain was Sourav Ganguly under whom Razzaq represented Asia XI against World XI at the MCG during the Tsunami Relief game which was hosted about two weeks after the Tsunami struck the Asia continent in December 2004.

List of captains Abdul Razzaq played under in International cricket:

Aamer Sohail (3 ODIs), Sourav Ganguly (1 ODI), Inzamam-ul-Haq (19 Tests, 85 ODIs, 1 T20I), Misbah-ul-Haq (3 ODIs), Mohammad Hafeez (6 T20Is), Mohammad Yousuf (1 Test, 2 ODIs), Moin Khan (9 Tests, 31 ODIs), Ramiz Raja (2 ODIs), Rashid Latif (17 ODIs), Saeed Anwar (2 Tests, 3 ODIs), Shahid Afridi (25 ODIs, 18 T20Is), Shoaib Malik (2 ODIs, 2 T20Is), Waqar Younis (12 Tests, 53 ODIs), Wasim Akram (1 Tests, 26 ODIs), Younis Khan (2 Tests, 11 ODIs, 5 T20Is).

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-231861" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Shahid-Afridi-4.jpg" alt="Shahid Afridi" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-231861" class="wp-caption-text">Shahid Afridi. (Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption>

Shahid Afridi is at No.3 in the list of players who played under most captains in International Cricket. He played under as many as 15 captains in Internationals so did his teammates Abdul Razzaq and Shoaib Malik. Afridi played 83 matches under his own captaincy in International cricket – 1 Test, 38 ODIs and 44 T20Is; the most Afridi played under any captain. He did play a total of 76 International games under Misbah-ul-Haq out of which 70 were ODIs alone while the other six matches in the T20I format.

Afridi played under a total of 14 captains before he led a team for the first time at International level. He made his debut for Pakistan under the captaincy of Saeed Anwar. The list of Afridi’s 15 captains includes a player from South Africa – <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/he-didnt-get-the-credit-he-deserved-shaun-pollock-picks-nine-best-pacers-across-generations/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Shaun Pollock</a>.

The all-rounder was the captain of ICC World XI which featured Shahid Afridi in the latter half of 2005. The World XI team faced the then No.1 side Australia in a 3-match ODI series during which Afridi played only two games.

List of captains Shahid Afridi played under in International cricket:

Aamer Sohail (1 Test, 11 ODIs), Abdul Razzaq (1 ODI), Inzamam-ul-Haq (9 Tests, 55 ODIs, 1 T20I), Misbah-ul-Haq (70 ODIs, 6 T20Is), Mohammad Hafeez (26 T20Is), Mohammad Yousuf (1 Test, 5 ODIs), Moin Khan (4 Tests, 22 ODIs), Shaun Pollock (2 ODIs), Ramiz Raja (14 ODIs), Rashid Latif (9 ODIs), Saeed Anwar (1 Test, 7 ODIs), Shoaib Malik (32 ODIs, 14 T20Is), Waqar Younis (3 Tests, 53 ODIs), Wasim Akram (5 Tests, 58 ODIs), Younis Khan (2 Tests, 21 ODIs, 8 T20Is).

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-375578" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Chris-Gayle-1.jpg" alt="Chris Gayle" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-375578" class="wp-caption-text">Chris Gayle. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)</figcaption>

Chris Gayle, till date, featured in 462 matches in International cricket out of which he played 90 games as captain – 20 Tests, 53 ODIs and 17 T20Is. The remaining 372 Internationals he played were under 16 different captains. He stands second in the list of playing under most different skippers in International cricket.

Out of the 16 captains, Gayle played more than 100 Internationals only under the captaincy of <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/sachin-tendulkar-was-harder-to-dislodge-that-brian-lara-jason-gillespie/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Brian Lara</a> (113). Gayle played less than 10 games under nine of his 16 captains in International cricket.

In the recent past, the Jamaican played under more than one skipper every year for the West Indies. Interestingly, two of Chris Gayle’s 16 captains don’t belong to the Caribbean Islands. He played Tsunami Appeal match in 2005 for ICC World XI against Asia XI under Ricky Ponting’s captaincy.

In the same year, Gayle represented ICC World XI in two matches against Australia part of the Super Series. Shaun Pollock was captain of the World XI in those two ODI games. The two stints with the World XI also helped Gayle to be placed at No.2 in this list.

List of captains Chris Gayle played under in International cricket:

Jimmy Adams (4 Tests, 13 ODIs), Carlos Brathwaite (6 T20Is), Dwayne Bravo (14 ODIs), Shivnarine Chanderpaul (10 Tests, 13 ODIs, 1 T20I), Daren Ganga (2 Tests), Jason Holder (42 ODIs, 2 T20Is), Carl Hooper (22 Tests, 44 ODIs), Ridley Jacobs (2 Tests, 4 ODIs), Brian Lara (26 Tests, 87 ODIs), Jason Mohammed (1 ODI), Kieron Pollard (2 ODIs), Shaun Pollock (2 ODIs), Ricky Ponting (1 ODI), Denesh Ramdin (4 Tests), Daren Sammy (11 Tests, 22 ODIs, 30 T20Is), Ramnaresh Sarwan (2 Tests, 3 ODIs, 2 T20Is).

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-151818" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Marlon-Samuels.jpg" alt="Marlon Samuels" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-151818" class="wp-caption-text">Marlon Samuels of Windies. (Photo by RANDY BROOKS/AFP/Getty Images)</figcaption>

Marlon Samuels holds the record for playing under most different captains in International cricket. Samuels played a total of 17 captains even though he couldn’t feature even in 400 International matches after playing for 19 years. Samuels appeared in 364 International games; all for the West Indies.

The only time he captained his country was during an ODI on their tour of <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/it-was-a-good-chance-rohit-sharma-feels-he-wouldve-scored-200-in-indore-t20i-against-sri-lanka-in-2017/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Sri Lanka </a>in 2015. Samuels played 98 matches under the captaincy of Daren Sammy, the most Internationals he played under any captain.

Most of the star players made themselves available for the T20 leagues around the globe in the past decade. However, Samuels remained loyal towards the Caribbean team and represented them in all three formats until catching up poor form.

In the last couple of years, West Indies had multiple captains especially in T20Is and Samuels played under most of them. Samuels played 10 or more matches only under eight out of the 17 captains in International cricket.

List of captains Marlon Samuels played under in International cricket:

Jimmy Adams (3 Tests, 10 ODIs), Carlos Brathwaite (18 T20Is), Dwayne Bravo (1 Test, 24 ODIs, 2 T20Is), Sherwin Campbell (1 ODI), Shivnarine Chanderpaul (2 Tests), Daren Ganga (1 Test), Chris Gayle (4 Tests, 11 ODIs, 2 T20Is), Jason Holder (12 Tests, 40 ODIs), Carl Hooper (10 Tests, 25 ODIs), Ridley Jacobs (2 Tests, 4 ODIs), Brian Lara (6 Tests, 50 ODIs), Jason Mohammed (1 ODI, 3 T20Is), Kieron Pollard (2 ODIs), Rovman Powell (3 ODIs), Denesh Ramdin (8 Tests, 1 ODI), Daren Sammy (22 Tests, 34 ODIs, 40 T20Is), Ramnaresh Sarwan (2 T20Is).

Not every cricketer’s long career takes the same route as only a couple of them get to lead their country in a record number of games while some remain playing under a high number of captains. In this article, we look at certain players who hold the record for playing under most captains. To be part of the list, some of them were benefited by their long careers, some by playing for a lot number of years while a few due to the country’s struggling phase. (Note: The number of captains played under does not include themselves.)
Here we look at the top five players who played under the most number of captains in International Cricket:
<h3>5. Shoaib Malik – 15 captains:</h3>
<figure id="attachment_357334" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-357334" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-357334" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/CT_346245.jpg" alt="Shoaib Malik" width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img><figcaption id="caption-attachment-357334" class="wp-caption-text">Shoaib Malik. (Photo by Nathan Stirk/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>
Shoaib Malik is one of the five players to have played under the captaincy of 15 or more players in International Cricket. Malik’s career is spanned across 21 years where he was part of various line-ups and different captains.
<a href="https://www.crictracker.com/if-you-think-virat-kohli-is-good-to-watch-have-a-look-at-babar-azam-bat-tom-moody/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Babar Azam</a>, during the recent home T20I series against Bangladesh, became the 15th captain in Internationals of Shoaib Malik. The all-rounder was captain of the Pakistan team in the mid-2000s where he led his country in three Tests, 41 ODI matches and 20 T20I games.
List of captains Shoaib Malik played under in International cricket:
Abdul Razzaq (1 ODI), Azhar Ali (25 ODIs), Babar Azam (2 T20Is), Inzamam-ul-Haq (13 Tests, 84 ODIs, 1 T20I), Misbah-ul-Haq (3 Tests, 24 ODIs, 8 T20Is), Mohammad Hafeez (2 ODIs, 20 T20Is), Mohammad Yousuf (5 Tests, 6 ODIs), Moin Khan (5 ODIs), Rashid Latif (1 Test, 12 ODIs), Salman Butt (3 Tests), Sarfaraz Ahmed (39 ODIs, 29 T20Is), Shahid Afridi (4 ODIs, 25 T20Is), Waqar Younis (2 Tests, 21 ODIs), Wasim Akram (5 ODIs), Younis Khan (5 Tests, 18 ODIs, 8 T20Is).

<h3>4. Abdul Razzaq – 15 captains:</h3>
<figure id="attachment_150470" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-150470" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-150470" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Abdul-Razzaq.jpg" alt="Abdul Razzaq of Pakistan" width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img><figcaption id="caption-attachment-150470" class="wp-caption-text">Abdul Razzaq of Pakistan. (Photo by Hamish Blair/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>
Abdul Razzaq’s International career was a start-stop one as he featured in only 343 matches across 18 long years. During his longevity, Razzaq got an opportunity to play under as many as 15 captains in International Cricket. He also stood as Pakistan captain in one ODI when West Indies toured Pakistan in 2006. Razzaq played a majority of his career under the captaincy of <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/inzamam-ul-haq-laments-missing-out-on-a-chance-to-score-400-in-lahore-test-against-new-zealand-in-2002/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Inzamam-ul-Haq</a> who led him in a total of 105 International games – 19 Tests, 85 ODIs and 1 T20I.
Razzaq made his International debut under Wasim Akram way back in 1996 and last played a game at this level way back in 2013 when Mohammad Hafeez was the captain. Out of Razzaq’s 15 International captains, only 14 were while playing for Pakistan.
The other captain was Sourav Ganguly under whom Razzaq represented Asia XI against World XI at the MCG during the Tsunami Relief game which was hosted about two weeks after the Tsunami struck the Asia continent in December 2004.
List of captains Abdul Razzaq played under in International cricket:
Aamer Sohail (3 ODIs), Sourav Ganguly (1 ODI), Inzamam-ul-Haq (19 Tests, 85 ODIs, 1 T20I), Misbah-ul-Haq (3 ODIs), Mohammad Hafeez (6 T20Is), Mohammad Yousuf (1 Test, 2 ODIs), Moin Khan (9 Tests, 31 ODIs), Ramiz Raja (2 ODIs), Rashid Latif (17 ODIs), Saeed Anwar (2 Tests, 3 ODIs), Shahid Afridi (25 ODIs, 18 T20Is), Shoaib Malik (2 ODIs, 2 T20Is), Waqar Younis (12 Tests, 53 ODIs), Wasim Akram (1 Tests, 26 ODIs), Younis Khan (2 Tests, 11 ODIs, 5 T20Is).

<h3>3. Shahid Afridi – 15 captains:</h3>
<figure id="attachment_231861" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-231861" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-231861" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Shahid-Afridi-4.jpg" alt="Shahid Afridi" width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img><figcaption id="caption-attachment-231861" class="wp-caption-text">Shahid Afridi. (Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption></figure>
Shahid Afridi is at No.3 in the list of players who played under most captains in International Cricket. He played under as many as 15 captains in Internationals so did his teammates Abdul Razzaq and Shoaib Malik. Afridi played 83 matches under his own captaincy in International cricket – 1 Test, 38 ODIs and 44 T20Is; the most Afridi played under any captain. He did play a total of 76 International games under Misbah-ul-Haq out of which 70 were ODIs alone while the other six matches in the T20I format.
Afridi played under a total of 14 captains before he led a team for the first time at International level. He made his debut for Pakistan under the captaincy of Saeed Anwar. The list of Afridi’s 15 captains includes a player from South Africa – <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/he-didnt-get-the-credit-he-deserved-shaun-pollock-picks-nine-best-pacers-across-generations/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Shaun Pollock</a>.
The all-rounder was the captain of ICC World XI which featured Shahid Afridi in the latter half of 2005. The World XI team faced the then No.1 side Australia in a 3-match ODI series during which Afridi played only two games.
List of captains Shahid Afridi played under in International cricket:
Aamer Sohail (1 Test, 11 ODIs), Abdul Razzaq (1 ODI), Inzamam-ul-Haq (9 Tests, 55 ODIs, 1 T20I), Misbah-ul-Haq (70 ODIs, 6 T20Is), Mohammad Hafeez (26 T20Is), Mohammad Yousuf (1 Test, 5 ODIs), Moin Khan (4 Tests, 22 ODIs), Shaun Pollock (2 ODIs), Ramiz Raja (14 ODIs), Rashid Latif (9 ODIs), Saeed Anwar (1 Test, 7 ODIs), Shoaib Malik (32 ODIs, 14 T20Is), Waqar Younis (3 Tests, 53 ODIs), Wasim Akram (5 Tests, 58 ODIs), Younis Khan (2 Tests, 21 ODIs, 8 T20Is).

<h3>2. Chris Gayle – 16 captains:</h3>
<figure id="attachment_375578" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-375578" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-375578" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Chris-Gayle-1.jpg" alt="Chris Gayle" width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img><figcaption id="caption-attachment-375578" class="wp-caption-text">Chris Gayle. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>
Chris Gayle, till date, featured in 462 matches in International cricket out of which he played 90 games as captain – 20 Tests, 53 ODIs and 17 T20Is. The remaining 372 Internationals he played were under 16 different captains. He stands second in the list of playing under most different skippers in International cricket.
Out of the 16 captains, Gayle played more than 100 Internationals only under the captaincy of <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/sachin-tendulkar-was-harder-to-dislodge-that-brian-lara-jason-gillespie/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Brian Lara</a> (113). Gayle played less than 10 games under nine of his 16 captains in International cricket.
In the recent past, the Jamaican played under more than one skipper every year for the West Indies. Interestingly, two of Chris Gayle’s 16 captains don’t belong to the Caribbean Islands. He played Tsunami Appeal match in 2005 for ICC World XI against Asia XI under Ricky Ponting’s captaincy.
In the same year, Gayle represented ICC World XI in two matches against Australia part of the Super Series. Shaun Pollock was captain of the World XI in those two ODI games. The two stints with the World XI also helped Gayle to be placed at No.2 in this list.
List of captains Chris Gayle played under in International cricket:
Jimmy Adams (4 Tests, 13 ODIs), Carlos Brathwaite (6 T20Is), Dwayne Bravo (14 ODIs), Shivnarine Chanderpaul (10 Tests, 13 ODIs, 1 T20I), Daren Ganga (2 Tests), Jason Holder (42 ODIs, 2 T20Is), Carl Hooper (22 Tests, 44 ODIs), Ridley Jacobs (2 Tests, 4 ODIs), Brian Lara (26 Tests, 87 ODIs), Jason Mohammed (1 ODI), Kieron Pollard (2 ODIs), Shaun Pollock (2 ODIs), Ricky Ponting (1 ODI), Denesh Ramdin (4 Tests), Daren Sammy (11 Tests, 22 ODIs, 30 T20Is), Ramnaresh Sarwan (2 Tests, 3 ODIs, 2 T20Is).

<h3>1. Marlon Samuels – 17 captains:</h3>
<figure id="attachment_151818" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-151818" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-151818" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Marlon-Samuels.jpg" alt="Marlon Samuels" width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img><figcaption id="caption-attachment-151818" class="wp-caption-text">Marlon Samuels of Windies. (Photo by RANDY BROOKS/AFP/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>
Marlon Samuels holds the record for playing under most different captains in International cricket. Samuels played a total of 17 captains even though he couldn’t feature even in 400 International matches after playing for 19 years. Samuels appeared in 364 International games; all for the West Indies.
The only time he captained his country was during an ODI on their tour of <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/it-was-a-good-chance-rohit-sharma-feels-he-wouldve-scored-200-in-indore-t20i-against-sri-lanka-in-2017/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Sri Lanka </a>in 2015. Samuels played 98 matches under the captaincy of Daren Sammy, the most Internationals he played under any captain.
Most of the star players made themselves available for the T20 leagues around the globe in the past decade. However, Samuels remained loyal towards the Caribbean team and represented them in all three formats until catching up poor form.
In the last couple of years, West Indies had multiple captains especially in T20Is and Samuels played under most of them. Samuels played 10 or more matches only under eight out of the 17 captains in International cricket.
List of captains Marlon Samuels played under in International cricket:
Jimmy Adams (3 Tests, 10 ODIs), Carlos Brathwaite (18 T20Is), Dwayne Bravo (1 Test, 24 ODIs, 2 T20Is), Sherwin Campbell (1 ODI), Shivnarine Chanderpaul (2 Tests), Daren Ganga (1 Test), Chris Gayle (4 Tests, 11 ODIs, 2 T20Is), Jason Holder (12 Tests, 40 ODIs), Carl Hooper (10 Tests, 25 ODIs), Ridley Jacobs (2 Tests, 4 ODIs), Brian Lara (6 Tests, 50 ODIs), Jason Mohammed (1 ODI, 3 T20Is), Kieron Pollard (2 ODIs), Rovman Powell (3 ODIs), Denesh Ramdin (8 Tests, 1 ODI), Daren Sammy (22 Tests, 34 ODIs, 40 T20Is), Ramnaresh Sarwan (2 T20Is).

Not every cricketer’s long career takes the same route as only a couple of them get to lead their country in a record number of games while some remain playing under a high number of captains. In this article, we look at certain players who hold the record for playing under most captains. To be part of the list, some of them were benefited by their long careers, some by playing for a lot number of years while a few due to the country’s struggling phase. (Note: The number of captains played under does not include themselves.)
Here we look at the top five players who played under the most number of captains in International Cricket:
<h3>5. Shoaib Malik – 15 captains:</h3>
<figure id="attachment_357334" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-357334" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-357334" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/CT_346245.jpg" alt="Shoaib Malik" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-357334" class="wp-caption-text">Shoaib Malik. (Photo by Nathan Stirk/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>
Shoaib Malik is one of the five players to have played under the captaincy of 15 or more players in International Cricket. Malik’s career is spanned across 21 years where he was part of various line-ups and different captains.
<a href="https://www.crictracker.com/if-you-think-virat-kohli-is-good-to-watch-have-a-look-at-babar-azam-bat-tom-moody/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Babar Azam</a>, during the recent home T20I series against Bangladesh, became the 15th captain in Internationals of Shoaib Malik. The all-rounder was captain of the Pakistan team in the mid-2000s where he led his country in three Tests, 41 ODI matches and 20 T20I games.
List of captains Shoaib Malik played under in International cricket:
Abdul Razzaq (1 ODI), Azhar Ali (25 ODIs), Babar Azam (2 T20Is), Inzamam-ul-Haq (13 Tests, 84 ODIs, 1 T20I), Misbah-ul-Haq (3 Tests, 24 ODIs, 8 T20Is), Mohammad Hafeez (2 ODIs, 20 T20Is), Mohammad Yousuf (5 Tests, 6 ODIs), Moin Khan (5 ODIs), Rashid Latif (1 Test, 12 ODIs), Salman Butt (3 Tests), Sarfaraz Ahmed (39 ODIs, 29 T20Is), Shahid Afridi (4 ODIs, 25 T20Is), Waqar Younis (2 Tests, 21 ODIs), Wasim Akram (5 ODIs), Younis Khan (5 Tests, 18 ODIs, 8 T20Is).

<h3>4. Abdul Razzaq – 15 captains:</h3>
<figure id="attachment_150470" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-150470" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-150470" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Abdul-Razzaq.jpg" alt="Abdul Razzaq of Pakistan" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-150470" class="wp-caption-text">Abdul Razzaq of Pakistan. (Photo by Hamish Blair/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>
Abdul Razzaq’s International career was a start-stop one as he featured in only 343 matches across 18 long years. During his longevity, Razzaq got an opportunity to play under as many as 15 captains in International Cricket. He also stood as Pakistan captain in one ODI when West Indies toured Pakistan in 2006. Razzaq played a majority of his career under the captaincy of <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/inzamam-ul-haq-laments-missing-out-on-a-chance-to-score-400-in-lahore-test-against-new-zealand-in-2002/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Inzamam-ul-Haq</a> who led him in a total of 105 International games – 19 Tests, 85 ODIs and 1 T20I.
Razzaq made his International debut under Wasim Akram way back in 1996 and last played a game at this level way back in 2013 when Mohammad Hafeez was the captain. Out of Razzaq’s 15 International captains, only 14 were while playing for Pakistan.
The other captain was Sourav Ganguly under whom Razzaq represented Asia XI against World XI at the MCG during the Tsunami Relief game which was hosted about two weeks after the Tsunami struck the Asia continent in December 2004.
List of captains Abdul Razzaq played under in International cricket:
Aamer Sohail (3 ODIs), Sourav Ganguly (1 ODI), Inzamam-ul-Haq (19 Tests, 85 ODIs, 1 T20I), Misbah-ul-Haq (3 ODIs), Mohammad Hafeez (6 T20Is), Mohammad Yousuf (1 Test, 2 ODIs), Moin Khan (9 Tests, 31 ODIs), Ramiz Raja (2 ODIs), Rashid Latif (17 ODIs), Saeed Anwar (2 Tests, 3 ODIs), Shahid Afridi (25 ODIs, 18 T20Is), Shoaib Malik (2 ODIs, 2 T20Is), Waqar Younis (12 Tests, 53 ODIs), Wasim Akram (1 Tests, 26 ODIs), Younis Khan (2 Tests, 11 ODIs, 5 T20Is).

<h3>3. Shahid Afridi – 15 captains:</h3>
<figure id="attachment_231861" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-231861" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-231861" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Shahid-Afridi-4.jpg" alt="Shahid Afridi" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-231861" class="wp-caption-text">Shahid Afridi. (Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption></figure>
Shahid Afridi is at No.3 in the list of players who played under most captains in International Cricket. He played under as many as 15 captains in Internationals so did his teammates Abdul Razzaq and Shoaib Malik. Afridi played 83 matches under his own captaincy in International cricket – 1 Test, 38 ODIs and 44 T20Is; the most Afridi played under any captain. He did play a total of 76 International games under Misbah-ul-Haq out of which 70 were ODIs alone while the other six matches in the T20I format.
Afridi played under a total of 14 captains before he led a team for the first time at International level. He made his debut for Pakistan under the captaincy of Saeed Anwar. The list of Afridi’s 15 captains includes a player from South Africa – <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/he-didnt-get-the-credit-he-deserved-shaun-pollock-picks-nine-best-pacers-across-generations/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Shaun Pollock</a>.
The all-rounder was the captain of ICC World XI which featured Shahid Afridi in the latter half of 2005. The World XI team faced the then No.1 side Australia in a 3-match ODI series during which Afridi played only two games.
List of captains Shahid Afridi played under in International cricket:
Aamer Sohail (1 Test, 11 ODIs), Abdul Razzaq (1 ODI), Inzamam-ul-Haq (9 Tests, 55 ODIs, 1 T20I), Misbah-ul-Haq (70 ODIs, 6 T20Is), Mohammad Hafeez (26 T20Is), Mohammad Yousuf (1 Test, 5 ODIs), Moin Khan (4 Tests, 22 ODIs), Shaun Pollock (2 ODIs), Ramiz Raja (14 ODIs), Rashid Latif (9 ODIs), Saeed Anwar (1 Test, 7 ODIs), Shoaib Malik (32 ODIs, 14 T20Is), Waqar Younis (3 Tests, 53 ODIs), Wasim Akram (5 Tests, 58 ODIs), Younis Khan (2 Tests, 21 ODIs, 8 T20Is).

<h3>2. Chris Gayle – 16 captains:</h3>
<figure id="attachment_375578" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-375578" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-375578" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Chris-Gayle-1.jpg" alt="Chris Gayle" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-375578" class="wp-caption-text">Chris Gayle. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>
Chris Gayle, till date, featured in 462 matches in International cricket out of which he played 90 games as captain – 20 Tests, 53 ODIs and 17 T20Is. The remaining 372 Internationals he played were under 16 different captains. He stands second in the list of playing under most different skippers in International cricket.
Out of the 16 captains, Gayle played more than 100 Internationals only under the captaincy of <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/sachin-tendulkar-was-harder-to-dislodge-that-brian-lara-jason-gillespie/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Brian Lara</a> (113). Gayle played less than 10 games under nine of his 16 captains in International cricket.
In the recent past, the Jamaican played under more than one skipper every year for the West Indies. Interestingly, two of Chris Gayle’s 16 captains don’t belong to the Caribbean Islands. He played Tsunami Appeal match in 2005 for ICC World XI against Asia XI under Ricky Ponting’s captaincy.
In the same year, Gayle represented ICC World XI in two matches against Australia part of the Super Series. Shaun Pollock was captain of the World XI in those two ODI games. The two stints with the World XI also helped Gayle to be placed at No.2 in this list.
List of captains Chris Gayle played under in International cricket:
Jimmy Adams (4 Tests, 13 ODIs), Carlos Brathwaite (6 T20Is), Dwayne Bravo (14 ODIs), Shivnarine Chanderpaul (10 Tests, 13 ODIs, 1 T20I), Daren Ganga (2 Tests), Jason Holder (42 ODIs, 2 T20Is), Carl Hooper (22 Tests, 44 ODIs), Ridley Jacobs (2 Tests, 4 ODIs), Brian Lara (26 Tests, 87 ODIs), Jason Mohammed (1 ODI), Kieron Pollard (2 ODIs), Shaun Pollock (2 ODIs), Ricky Ponting (1 ODI), Denesh Ramdin (4 Tests), Daren Sammy (11 Tests, 22 ODIs, 30 T20Is), Ramnaresh Sarwan (2 Tests, 3 ODIs, 2 T20Is).

<h3>1. Marlon Samuels – 17 captains:</h3>
<figure id="attachment_151818" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-151818" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-151818" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Marlon-Samuels.jpg" alt="Marlon Samuels" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-151818" class="wp-caption-text">Marlon Samuels of Windies. (Photo by RANDY BROOKS/AFP/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>
Marlon Samuels holds the record for playing under most different captains in International cricket. Samuels played a total of 17 captains even though he couldn’t feature even in 400 International matches after playing for 19 years. Samuels appeared in 364 International games; all for the West Indies.
The only time he captained his country was during an ODI on their tour of <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/it-was-a-good-chance-rohit-sharma-feels-he-wouldve-scored-200-in-indore-t20i-against-sri-lanka-in-2017/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Sri Lanka </a>in 2015. Samuels played 98 matches under the captaincy of Daren Sammy, the most Internationals he played under any captain.
Most of the star players made themselves available for the T20 leagues around the globe in the past decade. However, Samuels remained loyal towards the Caribbean team and represented them in all three formats until catching up poor form.
In the last couple of years, West Indies had multiple captains especially in T20Is and Samuels played under most of them. Samuels played 10 or more matches only under eight out of the 17 captains in International cricket.
List of captains Marlon Samuels played under in International cricket:
Jimmy Adams (3 Tests, 10 ODIs), Carlos Brathwaite (18 T20Is), Dwayne Bravo (1 Test, 24 ODIs, 2 T20Is), Sherwin Campbell (1 ODI), Shivnarine Chanderpaul (2 Tests), Daren Ganga (1 Test), Chris Gayle (4 Tests, 11 ODIs, 2 T20Is), Jason Holder (12 Tests, 40 ODIs), Carl Hooper (10 Tests, 25 ODIs), Ridley Jacobs (2 Tests, 4 ODIs), Brian Lara (6 Tests, 50 ODIs), Jason Mohammed (1 ODI, 3 T20Is), Kieron Pollard (2 ODIs), Rovman Powell (3 ODIs), Denesh Ramdin (8 Tests, 1 ODI), Daren Sammy (22 Tests, 34 ODIs, 40 T20Is), Ramnaresh Sarwan (2 T20Is).

Here we look at the top five players who played under the most number of captains in International Cricket.

5 Cricketers who played under most Captains in International Cricket

Not every cricketer’s long career takes the same route as only a couple of them get to lead their country in a record number of games while some