For any cr💙icketer, captaining their nation is the stuff that dreams are made of. It 🌄is the greatest honour that can be bestowed on any player from across the world.
But what makes a great cricket captain? Some lead by example, some are tactical geniuses, and some are simply🌳 just good leaders of men🧔. Others have political and religious issues to deal with, and some carry the hope of a whole nation on their shoulders. All this makes defining a great captain very difficult.
Furthermore, the best cricket captain in the world isn’t always the guy c⛄aptaining the best ꦓteam. Sometimes a great team can make an average captain look good. And a struggling team can make a great captain look poor.
Here, we look at some of the best cricket cap🌠tains in more detail.
What makes a good cricket captain?
If statistics are the tool that defines what makes a good cricket captain, then Ricky Ponting’s win percentage of 62.33 is one of the best of all🧔 time and would be second only to Steve Waugh (71.92).
But Ricky Ponting captained one of the best Test teams of all time. The൩ team almost captained itself. And the chances are that𝓀 any player on that side could have had a similar win percentage. ;
There is far more to defining a good cricket captain than their respective win percentages. Sometimes, like in the case of Ponting, it’s just keeping the dressing roomꦡ happy and not upsetting the applecart. Although, that in itself could be regarded as a captaincy skill.
Other traits of a good cricket captain include tactical awareness, leadership, and strength of personaliꦏty. ꦿ;
Stephen Fleming’s tactical awareness turned an average New Zealand side into one that could compete on the world stage. Brian Lara almost single-handedly carried a strugglꩵing West Indies side in the late 1990s into the early 2000s.
Nasser Hussain had to deal with political issues at the 2003 ICC Cricket World Cup that were wa൩y beyond anything a sportsperson should be left to deal with. While MS Dhoni carried the weight of a whole nation on his shoulders at the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup. These are just some reasons that make defining who the best cricket captains are so difficult.
Who are the best cricket captains of all time?
| Name | Country | Years as Captain | Matches as Captain | Won | Lost | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MS Dhoni | India | 2008-2014 | 60 | 27 | 18 | 45% |
| Graeme Smith | South Africa | 2003-2014 | 109 | 53 | 29 | 48.62% |
| Steve Waugh | Australia | 1999-2004 | 57 | 41 | 9 | 71.92% |
| Clive Lloyd | West Indies | 1974-1985 | 74 | 36 | 12 | 48.64% |
| Imran Khan | Pakistan | 1982-1992 | 48 | 14 | 8 | 29.16% |
| Stephen Fleming | New Zealand | 1997-2006 | 80 | 28 | 27 | 35% |
| Allan Border | Australia | 1984-1994 | 93 | 32 | 22 | 34.4% |
| Ricky Ponting | Australia | 2004-2010 | 77 | 48 | 16 | 62.33% |
| Brian Lara | West Indies | 1997-2006 | 47 | 10 | 26 | 21.27% |
| Virat Kohli | India | 2014-2022 | 68 | 40 | 17 | 58.82% |
The best cricket captains highlighted
MS Dhoni
Mahendra Singh Dhoni ticks more captaincy boxes than most. Inspirational, a great leader of men, able to perform und🧸er pressure, and a fine cricketer. Not only was he a great leader, but he wa🃏s an accomplished batter and also a top-quality wicketkeeper.
Doing any of those jobs at a high level is difficult enough. But Dhoni somehow💦 managed to combine them allꦓ.
But what made Dhoni really special was his unique talent to play under the most extreme pressure imaginable. When he captained India to victory in the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup,♔ India e꧋xpected him to win. If he hadn’t delivered, history would now be judging him very differently.
The ability ꦡto think on his feet and remain calm when others around were losing their heads and his sheer self-belief and determination to win are what made Dhoni stand out amongst his peers. 💖;
| Format | Mat | Inns | NO | Runs | HS | Ave | BF | SR | 100 | 50 | 4s | 6s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test | 90 | 144 | 16 | 4876 | 224 | 38.09 | 8249 | 59.11 | 6 | 33 | 544 | 78 |
| ODI | 350 | 297 | 84 | 10773 | 183 | 50.57 | 12303 | 87.56 | 10 | 73 | 826 | 229 |
| T20I | 98 | 85 | 42 | 1617 | 56 | 37.60 | 1282 | 126.13 | 0 | 2 | 116 | 52 |
| Format | Mat | Inns | Balls | Runs | Wkts | BBI | BBM | Ave | Econ | SR | 5w | 10w |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test | 90 | 7 | 96 | 67 | 0 | – | – | – | 4.18 | – | 0 | 0 |
| ODI | 350 | 2 | 36 | 31 | 1 | 1/14 | 1/14 | 31.00 | 5.16 | 36.0 | 0 | 0 |
| T20I | 98 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
Graeme Smith
Former South Africa captain Graeme Smith was thrown in at the deep end and had to learn on the job. He was identified as a potential leader of෴ men early in his career, and when he was made captain of South Africa at the tender age of 22 years old, he was his nation’s youngest-ever skipper.
When appointed captain, Smith was still a boy in a man’s world. Admittedly, he was a very grown-up boy. But despite this, his inexperience in the job rubbed fellow internatio🐭nal captains up the wrong way. He hadn’t been there and done that like they had.
But what made Smith such a great leader was his ability to wa🍰lk into that man’s world and take charge of it. And all the captains who despised him as an upstart had the ut🐈most respect for him by the time he finished his career.
Smith wasn’t the most talented batter to ever walk out to the middle and open the innings. Deওspite this, he still managed to average 48.25 over a 117-match Test career.
| Format | Mat | Inns | NO | Runs | HS | Ave | BF | SR | 100s | 50s | 4s | 6s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test | 117 | 205 | 13 | 9265 | 277 | 48.25 | 15525 | 59.67 | 27 | 38 | 1165 | 24 |
| ODI | 197 | 194 | 10 | 6989 | 141 | 37.98 | 8648 | 80.81 | 10 | 47 | 788 | 44 |
| T20I | 33 | 33 | 2 | 982 | 89 | 31.67 | 770 | 127.53 | 0 | 5 | 123 | 26 |
| Format | Mat | Inns | Balls | Runs | Wkts | BBI | BBM | Ave | Econ | SR | 5w | 10w |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test | 117 | 37 | 1418 | 885 | 8 | 2/145 | 2/145 | 110.62 | 3.74 | 177.2 | 0 | 0 |
| ODI | 197 | 43 | 1026 | 951 | 18 | 3/30 | 3/30 | 52.83 | 5.56 | 57.0 | 0 | 0 |
| T20I | 33 | 3 | 24 | 57 | 0 | – | – | – | 14.25 | – | 0 | 0 |
Steve Waugh
Another remarkable leader of m♔en, Steve Waugh was one of the ultimate warriors on a cricket field. Waugh wasn’t the most talented batter ever. In fact, he wasn’t even the most talented batter in his family. But dꦿespite this, he ground out a successful Test career for himself, averaging 51.06 over 166 Test matches.
Waugh completed the job started by Alan Border. As a captain, he turned Australia into a winning machine. Overall he had a win percentage 🌱of 71.92 during his time as skipper. Waugh also captained Australia to a world record 16 successive Test match wins.
On top of his Test match record, Waugh played a leading role in Australia’s 1987 World Cup win and also captained his team to victory at the 1999 ICC Cricket World Cup.&nbs🐻p;
| Format | Mat | Inns | NO | Runs | HS | Ave | BF | SR | 100s | 50s | 4s | 6s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test | 168 | 260 | 46 | 10927 | 200 | 51.06 | 22461 | 48.64 | 32 | 50 | 1175 | 20 |
| ODI | 325 | 288 | 58 | 7569 | 120 | 32.90 | 9971 | 75.91 | 3 | 45 | 530 | 68 |
| Format | Mat | Inns | Balls | Runs | Wkts | BBI | BBM | Ave | Econ | SR | 5w | 10w |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test | 168 | 150 | 7805 | 3445 | 92 | 5/28 | 8/169 | 37.44 | 2.64 | 84.8 | 3 | 0 |
| ODI | 325 | 207 | 8883 | 6761 | 195 | 4/33 | 4/33 | 34.67 | 4.56 | 45.5 | 0 | 0 |
Clive Lloyd
Clive Lloyd led the West Indies for 1🉐1 years from 1974 to 1985. He ca🌠ptained the team 74 times at Test level, winning 48 of those matches.
During that time, Lloyd had a team that did most of its talking on the ﷽pitch. But he did have some big egos to manage, and it was Lloyd’s larger-than-life personality that managed to gel all the players from the different islands together and turn them into the most feared side in the world.&nꦦbsp;
Lloyd captained his team to back-to-back ICC Cricket World Cup wins in 1975 and 1979. In 1975, he top-scored in the final with a match-winning knock of 102. Then in 1979, he had a more subdued match, scoring just 13 runs in his nation’s 92-run win over England.
| Format | Mat | Inns | NO | Runs | HS | Ave | BF | SR | 100s | 50s | 6s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test | 110 | 175 | 14 | 7515 | 242 | 46.67 | – | – | 19 | 39 | 70 |
| ODI | 87 | 69 | 19 | 1977 | 102 | 39.54 | 2434 | 81.22 | 1 | 11 | – |
| Format | Mat | Inns | Balls | Runs | Wkts | BBI | BBM | Ave | Econ | SR | 5w | 10w |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test | 110 | 45 | 1716 | 622 | 10 | 2/13 | 2/22 | 62.20 | 2.17 | 171.6 | 0 | 0 |
| ODI | 87 | 10 | 358 | 210 | 8 | 2/4 | 2/4 | 26.25 | 3.51 | 44.7 | 0 | 0 |
Imran Khan
Where do we start with Imran Khan? His record of 14 wins from the 48 matches he captained Pakistan in doesn’t do him justice. At the time, Pakistan was an emerging cricket nation, and Khan was – at times – carrying his team.
But Imran Khan wasn’t just a leader of men, he was also a diplomat and could build bridgeꦦs with people from different backgrounds and religions. He was never defined by religion, race or politics and often broke unwritten rules 😼with his lifestyle off the pitch.
On the pitch, his greatest achievement was leading Pakistan to their only ICC Cricket World Cup victory. At the 1992 tournament in Australia, Pakistan started in shambolic fashion. B💟ut Khan lifted the team and ultimately led them to a 22-run win over England in the final.
| Format | Mat | Inns | NO | Runs | HS | Ave | BF | SR | 100s | 50s | 6s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test | 88 | 126 | 25 | 3807 | 136 | 37.69 | – | – | 6 | 18 | 55 |
| ODI | 175 | 151 | 40 | 3709 | 102 | 33.41 | 5105 | 72.65 | 1 | 19 | – |
| Format | Mat | Inns | Balls | Runs | Wkts | BBI | BBM | Ave | Econ | SR | 5w | 10w |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test | 88 | 142 | 19458 | 8258 | 362 | 8/58 | 14/116 | 22.81 | 2.54 | 53.7 | 23 | 6 |
| ODI | 175 | 153 | 7461 | 4844 | 182 | 6/14 | 6/14 | 26.61 | 3.89 | 40.9 | 1 | 0 |
Is MS Dhoni the best cricket player ever?
The question of where MS Dhoni ranks in the list of best cricket players is an intriguing one. Because of his subl♉ime leadership skills, his ability as a batter and wicketkeeper often gets overlooked. But this i🔜s harsh because MS was good at both disciplines.
In Test cricket, Dhoni averaged 38.09 with the bat. He played 90 Tests, scoring a total of 4,876 runs. There are plenty of batters out there who would be proud of that record. As well as having a decent record with the bat, Dhoni also took 2⛎56 catches and completed 38 stum🃏pings.
Compare that with the recor🤪d of Adam Gilchrist, who scored 5,570 runs in 96 Tests,ꦬ at an average of 47.60, and you could argue that Gilchrist was a better player. Certainly in the Test arena.
But then Gilchrist didn’t have to ca🎐ptain Australia in 60 of his Test appearances as Dhoni did for India. Gilchrist also played in a formidab📖le team, whereas Dhoni played in a developing team.
In ODIs for India, Dhoni played an astoꦡnishing 350 games. In those games, he scored 10,773 runs at an average of 50.53. He also played in 98 T20 internationals, scoring 1617 runs at an average of 37.60.
But it’s💦 Dhoni’s ODI record that is just on another level. To average above 50 over 350 matches is truly phenomenal. And a lot of those matches were with the added responsibility of being♒ captain.
Dhoni didn’t just amass easy runs either. He often scored crucial r🧔uns when they were needed the most. His most important innings of all came in the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup final. When Dhoni came out to bat, India were in a spot of bother at 114/3. Both Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli were out, and ꧃the pressure was really on. Dhoni scored 91 not out and led India to their second-ever world title.
But Dhoni wasn’t just batting to win a World Cup final. He was playing for the whole of India, and somehow, he managed to withstand that pressure and lead his team to win the Cricket World Cup. Inspirational leadership skillꦛs that remain unmatched.
This might not be enough to confirm Dhoni as the greatest cricketer ever. But it certainly puts him in the conversation. And it would have to be one hell of a player who is deemed to have been betterꩵ.
Who’s the current cricket captain for India?
The current captain ofꦐ 💯the Indian national cricket team is Rohit Sharma.
The opening batter initially became captain of the T20 team back in November 2021. This was quickly upgraded to i🦂nclude the ODI captaincy the following month, as the BCCI wanted consistency with the captaincy of both white ball teams.
In February 2022, Sharma was ꦐappointed captain of the Indian Test team as well. Making him captain across all three formats. He still holds all three🍃 positions.
Who are considered to be the best cricket captains currently?
Out of all the current cricket capt🍒ains around the world, who would a modern-day cricketer want to pla꧒y for?
Ben Stokes
First up, who wouldn’t want to play in a team captained by Ben Stokes? Maybe Geoffrey Boycott. But apart from plodders from yesteryear, no modern-day cricketer wouldn’t want to play in a team that playﷺs the brand of cricket the current England Test team does.
At the end of 2022, England had a run rate of 4.13 per over from the 15 Tests played in the calendar year. A calendar run rate of more than four runs an over has been achieved on just two other occasions. In 1910, Australia had a rate of 4.77, but that was from just two Test matches. And in 2003, Australia had 𓆉a rate of 4.08 fro🗹m 15 Tests.
| Format | Mat | Inns | NO | Runs | HS | Ave | BF | SR | 100s | 50s | 4s | 6s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test | 97 | 175 | 7 | 6117 | 258 | 36.41 | 10335 | 59.18 | 13 | 30 | 716 | 124 |
| ODI | 108 | 93 | 15 | 3159 | 182 | 40.50 | 3278 | 96.36 | 4 | 22 | 256 | 98 |
| T20I | 43 | 36 | 9 | 585 | 52 | 21.66 | 457 | 128.00 | 0 | 1 | 42 | 22 |
| Format | Mat | Inns | Balls | Runs | Wkts | BBI | BBM | Ave | Econ | SR | 5w | 10w |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test | 97 | 146 | 11471 | 6318 | 197 | 6/22 | 8/161 | 32.07 | 3.30 | 58.2 | 4 | 0 |
| ODI | 108 | 88 | 3110 | 3137 | 74 | 5/61 | 5/61 | 42.39 | 6.05 | 42.0 | 1 | 0 |
| T20I | 43 | 36 | 612 | 856 | 26 | 3/26 | 3/26 | 32.92 | 8.39 | 23.5 | 0 | 0 |
Aiden Markram
Ai𒅌den Markram is a crickeඣt captain who must be fun to play for. Markram led the Sunrisers Eastern Cape to the inaugural SA20 title in 2023 and was subsequently named skipper of Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL.
Markram is 28 years of age🎐. He may be new to captaincy but has taken to it like a fish to water. His positive intent and experience within the game make him one of the more exciting captains to play for on both the franchise and international circuit.
He is also now the new skipper of the South Afri𓄧ca T20 cricket team, and under his leadership, the Proteas will believe they can finally break their duck at ICC events. His time in charge of Sunrisers Hyderabad didn’t go well in 2023, but turning the Sunrisers around won🦩’t be easy for anybody.
| Format | Mat | Inns | NO | Runs | HS | Ave | BF | SR | 100s | 50s | 4s | 6s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test | 35 | 64 | 1 | 2285 | 152 | 36.26 | 3902 | 58.55 | 6 | 10 | 335 | 10 |
| ODI | 55 | 52 | 5 | 1665 | 175 | 35.42 | 1728 | 96.35 | 2 | 7 | 169 | 40 |
| T20I | 37 | 33 | 6 | 1063 | 70 | 39.37 | 711 | 149.50 | 0 | 9 | 91 | 44 |
| Format | Mat | Inns | Balls | Runs | Wkts | BBI | BBM | Ave | Econ | SR | 5w | 10w |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test | 35 | 13 | 249 | 130 | 2 | 2/27 | 2/27 | 65.00 | 3.13 | 124.5 | 0 | 0 |
| ODI | 55 | 24 | 716 | 701 | 16 | 2/18 | 2/18 | 43.81 | 5.87 | 44.7 | 0 | 0 |
| T20I | 37 | 16 | 198 | 262 | 9 | 3/21 | 3/21 | 29.11 | 7.93 | 22.0 | 0 | 0 |
Hardik Pandya
Another captain who must be some fun to play under is Hardik Pandya. Already Pandya has led the Guj🍬arat Titans to the IPL title in 2022, and as the vice-captain in India’s white ball teams, he has an impressive record of ten wins from the 16 games he has led the Indian T20 team in when Rohit Sharma hasn’t been available.
Pandya is unlucky in one sense, as Rohit Sharma has an exceptional record leading the Indian T20 team. But should Sharma get injured or decide the role is no longer for him, I𝕴ndia already has a ready-maꦰde replacement in Pandya.
| Format | Mat | Inns | NO | Runs | HS | Ave | BF | SR | 100s | 50s | 4s | 6s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test | 11 | 18 | 1 | 532 | 108 | 31.29 | 720 | 73.88 | 1 | 4 | 68 | 12 |
| ODI | 82 | 60 | 8 | 1758 | 92 | 33.80 | 1595 | 110.21 | 0 | 11 | 132 | 66 |
| T20I | 92 | 71 | 18 | 1348 | 71 | 25.43 | 964 | 139.83 | 0 | 3 | 96 | 69 |
| Format | Mat | Inns | Balls | Runs | Wkts | BBI | BBM | Ave | Econ | SR | 5w | 10w |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test | 11 | 19 | 937 | 528 | 17 | 5/28 | 6/50 | 31.05 | 3.38 | 55.1 | 1 | 0 |
| ODI | 82 | 76 | 3100 | 2847 | 79 | 4/24 | 4/24 | 36.03 | 5.51 | 39.2 | 0 | 0 |
| T20I | 92 | 81 | 1433 | 1950 | 73 | 4/16 | 4/16 | 26.71 | 8.16 | 19.6 | 0 | 0 |
Which Indian cricket captain has the best win percentage?
Across all formats combine❀d, Virat Kohli has the best win percentage as an Indian captain. In Test matches, ODIs and T20s, Kohli led India 213 times and had an astonishing 63.38 win percentage.
That puts hi🔯m ahead of the great MS Dhoni, who has a 53.61 win percentage from the 332 games he captained India.
Sourav Gan🌃guly is another leader who was unlucky to be left off our list of the ten best captains. He led India on 195 occasions across Test and ODI formats, winning 97 matches with a percentage of 49.74. Ganguly sits third on the all-time list.
Which Indian captain has the best record in test matches?
When it comes to the best record in Test matches for India, ther🐬e is only one name in town, and that’s Virat Kohli. Virat won 40 of the 68 Test matches he captained in.
Under Kohli’s leadership, India assumed the top spot in the ICC Test Rankings in October 2016. They held the No.1 spot for 42 months unti🔥l March 2020. A truly outstanding record.
Which Indian captain has the best record in ODIs?
We’re back to the legend that is Mahendra Singh Dhoni. MS captained India a staggering 200 times in OD🐟Is. He won 110 of those matches and had a win record of 55%.
Mohammad Azharuddin has the second-best record with 90 wins ✃from 174 matches as skipper. This gave him a win rate of 51.7༒2%
Virat Kohli has a win rate of 68.💜42%, better than Dhoni and Azharuddin. But Kohli only captained India in 95 matches, winning 65 of them.
Which Indian captain has the best record in T20 tournaments?
India has had 11 captains in the T20 format, but seven of them have captained their country on five or fewer occasions. Of the four longer-term captains, MS Dhoni has led the team on 72 occasions, winning 41 times with a win rate of 56.94%. 𝓰;
Virat Kohli led the team 50 times, winning 30 matches with a win rate of 60%. Hardik Pandya has won ten of the 16 ma🧔tches he has led India in, giving him a win rate of🍸 62.5%.
But most impressive of all is current skipper, Rohit Sharma, who has won 39 of the 51 matches he has led the team in. Sharma h꧂as a win rate of 76.47%.
But when it comes to a show of medals, it’s that man, Mahendra Sing Singh Dhoni again. MS Dhoni was captain of the team that won the inaugural T20 World Cup back in 2007. And to date is the only Indian to have led his team to a world title in theꦏ T20 format.
How many captains have won the ICC finals with India?
India has won three ICC events in total. MS Dhoni led the nation to two of those titles, and the legend💛ary Kapil Dev, to the other.
For alജl of Dhoni’s achievements, Kapil Dev was the first Indian to lift an ICC trophy when he led India to the 1983 ICC Cricket World Cup. This was an extraordinary win over the then-great West Indies side in the final at Lord’s, who were looking to win the trophy for the third time in🌌 succession.
It may be hard for modern cricket fans to compr🤡ehend, but to this day, the win for Dev’s India is ♑still one of the biggest shocks in cricket history.
MS Dhoni is the only other captain to win an ICC final for India. MS Dhoni first led India toಞ the T20 World Cup in 2007. He also captained his nation to the ICC Cricket World Cup in 2011.
Are there any new cricket captains to watch out for?
New up-and-coming cricket captains are a rare breed. Most teams – international or franchise – tend to go for more established and experienced players to lead their teams.
Younger captains – and by that we mean 30 or under – who are worth keeping an eye on in the future are Sanju Samson, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya and Aiden Markram.
Sanju Samson was appointed captain of Kerala aged just 20 and is the youngest player to ever lead them in the Ranji Trophy. In 2021, he was appointed skipper of the Rajasthan Royals and immediately became the first player to score a century in his first match as ♉a captain in the IPL.
Rishabh Paಞnt was only starting as a captain when he was injured in a serious car crash. But Pant has already displayed captaincy credentials and will be ওultra-attacking and great to watch when he gets back out on the cricket field.
As for Hardik Pandya and Aiden Markram,ไ we alrea꧃dy know all about their potential. When the day comes that they are leading India and South Africa in white ball cricket, get ready for some fireworks.
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