3 players who lost captaincy after winning ICC titles

In international cricket, ICC tournaments are considered to be the litmus test of every captain and are often used as a yardstick to judge their leadership careers. While every skipper comes into an ICC event fully prepared to go all the way and lead his team to a title triumph, only a few are able to achieve their goal.

Losing important ICC events often results in a change of leadership for most teams and even the end of careers for some players. However, in some rare circumstances, captains have been unceremoniously removed from their positions despite leading their teams to ICC triumphs. Here are three such instances of captains being sacked even after winning the ICC trophies:

1. Darren Sammy

The legendary West Indies skipper etched his name in the history books after leading his team to its second T20 World Cup title under his leadership in 2016. As a result, West Indies became the first team to win two T20 World Cup trophies. Despite his massive success, Sammy was sacked from captaincy as the board was keen to prepare for the future and handed over the leadership to Carlos Brathwaite.

2. Rohit Sharma

The India captain was enjoying a golden period in his leadership, having guided his team to the final of the ODI World Cup 2023. Under his captaincy, India also ended their 11-year wait for an ICC trophy by winning the T20 World Cup 2024. Rohit Sharma further led India to the Champions Trophy 2025 triumph, making the Men in Blue a dominating force in limited-overs cricket. However, despite his stellar run as a leader, Rohit was removed from his position with the selectors handing over the captaincy reins to Shubman Gill in October 2025.

3. Suryakumar Yadav

Suryakumar Yadav is the latest entrant in the list, having been sacked not just from captaincy but from the Indian T20I team altogether. Suryakumar led India to the T20 World Cup 2026 triumph on home soil as the Men in Blue became the first team to defend their title as well as win the trophy on home soil. Under his leadership, India remained unbeaten in both bilateral and multi-national tournaments. Despite his clean record, he was removed from captaincy as Shreyas Iyer replaced him in the team.