India has been unlucky with the toss for a very long time. No matter who is the captain, the team has lost the toss 20 times in a row. This is extremely rare and unlikely to happen, with a chance of only 1 in 1,048,576.
This streak began during the 2023 World Cup final and has persisted across multiple captains, including Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, and Shubman Gill, indicating that the toss outcome is independent of who leads the team.
Rohit Sharma:
Former Indian Captain Rohit Sharma has lost the toss 12 times in a row in One Day International (ODI) matches. This matches the record for most toss losses in a row by a captain, which was held before by Brian Lara. This streak began on 19th November 2023. Despite losing the toss often, India has still played well in those games.
KL Rahul:
KL Rahul has lost the coin toss 5 times in a row as captain. This is part of India’s longer streak, where they have lost the toss 20 times in a row. This happened up to the second ODI match against South Africa on December 2, 2025, in Raipur. In the recent India-South Africa matches, South Africa won both tosses and chose to bowl first.
Shubman Gill:
Shubman Gill lost three consecutive ODI tosses as India’s captain during the 2025 series against Australia in October. This streak occurred in the three-match ODI series: Gill lost the toss in the 1st ODI in Perth, the 2nd in Adelaide, and the 3rd in Sydney on October 25.
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The run began after India’s last ODI toss win and extended across multiple series, defying statistical odds equivalent to flipping a coin tails 20 times straight. No other team has matched this record in the format.
