Shreyas Iyer has entered a new chapter in his international career after being handed the India captaincy for the fourth ODI against New Zealand on Friday, November 13. The appointment makes him the 29th player to lead India in the 50over format and marks his first stint as the team's ODI skipper. Iyer reached the milestone after featuring in 85 ODIs for India. However, he is far from the only Indian cricketer who had to wait for a significant number of appearances before getting the leadership opportunity.

Anil Kumble Holds The Record, Rohit Sharma Second

Several celebrated names had already built lengthy ODI careers before being entrusted with the captaincy.

Rohit Sharma was appointed skipper after 171 appearances, while Shikhar Dhawan and Rahul Dravid had played 142 and 138 matches, respectively.

Here is the list of Indian players who featured in the most ODIs before captaining the team for the first time:

Anil Kumble: 217 ODIs
Rohit Sharma: 171 ODIs
Shikhar Dhawan: 142 ODIs
Rahul Dravid: 138 ODIs
Ajay Jadeja: 129 ODIs
Sachin Tendulkar: 119 ODIs
Sourav Ganguly: 111 ODIs
K Srikkanth: 111 ODIs
Virat Kohli: 104 ODIs
Gautam Gambhir: 100 ODIs
D Vengsarkar: 98 ODIs
M Azharuddin: 98 ODIs
Suresh Raina: 90 ODIs
Shreyas Iyer*: 85 ODIs
MS Dhoni: 81 ODIs
Ravi Shastri: 75 ODIs
Hardik Pandya: 71 ODIs
Virender Sehwag: 70 ODIs

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Why Is Shreyas Iyer Leading India Instead Of Shubman Gill?

Shreyas Iyer's elevation comes as regular ODI captain Shubman Gill sits out the final two matches of the New Zealand series.

India play the fifth ODI on November 15, before beginning their Test assignment on November 19.

With Gill also leading India in Tests, the short turnaround between the two formats has prompted the team management to rest him and some other Test regulars from the remaining ODIs.

Iyer has consequently been given the opportunity to lead the side.

IND vs NZ 4th ODI: Story Of The Match So Far

New Zealand got the opportunity to bat first in this ODI, and they went on to post a 333 runs on the board.

As of this writing, India's chase seems to be on a troublesome note with five runs on the board and three batsmen already back in the dressing room, including Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.