Know all the Indian football team captains from 1924 to 2024

While India’s footballing history in recent years isn’t as rich as some of their Asian counterparts like Japan and Qatar, the Indian national football team has produced its fair share of top-quality players and captains over the years.

The Blue Tigers, as the Indian national football team is fondly known, has enjoyed some success in the past. 

Once considered the best team in South Asia, the Indian football team won two gold medals at the Asian Games in 1951 and 1962.

They also finished fourth in the 1956 edition of the Olympics and qualified for the 1950 edition of the FIFA World Cup prior to withdrawing from the tournament.

India has made four appearances in the AFC Asian Cup as well and finished as runners-up in the 1964 edition of the competition.

The top footballing nation among the SAFF countries, India has won the SAFF Championship a record eight times since the tournament’s inception in 1993.

While India’s current FIFA ranking of 121 doesn’t make for kind reading, the Blue Tigers’ highest FIFA ranking was in February 1996 when they were ranked 94.

Three-time South Asian Games champions, India’s only noteworthy tournament triumph after the turn of the century was their AFC Challenge Cup triumph in 2008.

While there have been some memorable matches and tournaments like an away draw against Qatar and India’s Intercontinental Cup victories, there hasn’t been much collective success on a consistent basis for the national team.

One player who has been a part of the squad for almost two decades now is the legendary Sunil Chhetri.

Chhetri, who is India’s top goal-scorer of all time, has led India with pride and has joined the pantheon of legends who have led the national team on the international stage. 

While the first-ever captain of the national team was named Mani Das in British India, here’s the complete India football team captain list.

India football team captain list

Photo credit: Alamy