India is a cricketing powerhouse. It has been home to some of the most elite cricket players of all time. But that is not it. India is a very successful nation when it comes to cricket. And one of the reasons is that over the years, the team has had great leaders. The nation, with two World Cups, has seen great captains bring the best out of the players. But who is the most successful captain in India?
Let’s take a look at the ranking of the most successful captains in India all time according to their win percentages and other statistics.
Table of Contents
Most Successful Captain in India
When it comes to the most successful captain in India in all formats, there is a continuous debate. It is pretty evident. After all, cricket is diverse. There are multiple formats, and each requires a different leadership mindset. So, who is the most successful captain in India? There are various parameters to rank them. One of the most important is the win percentage.
In other words, Virat Kohli might have the best record in Tests, while MS Dhoni has the most ICC trophies; there are other cricket captains in India whose win rate is better than theirs as well.
Top 10 Most Successful Captain in India
Here is the list of “India most successful captain in cricket.” The list combines all three formats: ODIs, Tests, and T20Is statistics. Also, the list sorts the most successful captain in India by win percentage. Check it out:
|
Player |
Career Span | Total Matches | Win | Lost |
Draw |
Win Percent | W/L Ratio |
|
RG Sharma |
2017–2025 | 142 | 103 |
33 |
3 |
72.53 |
3.12 |
|
V Kohli |
2013–2022 |
213 |
135 |
60 |
11 |
63.38 |
2.25 |
|
MS Dhoni |
2007–2018 |
332 |
178 |
120 |
15 |
53.61 |
1.48 |
|
R Dravid |
2000–2007 |
104 |
50 |
39 |
11 |
48.07 |
1.28 |
|
SC Ganguly |
1999–2005 |
195 |
97 |
78 |
15 |
49.74 |
1.24 |
|
M Azharuddin |
1990–1999 |
221 |
104 |
90 |
19 |
47.05 |
1.15 |
|
N Kapil Dev |
1982–1987 |
108 |
43 |
40 |
22 |
39.81 |
1.07 |
|
SM Gavaskar |
1976–1985 |
84 |
23 |
29 |
30 |
27.38 |
0.79 |
|
SR Tendulkar |
1996–2000 |
98 |
27 |
52 |
12 |
27.55 |
0.51 |
|
MAK Pataudi |
1962–1975 |
40 |
9 |
19 |
12 |
22.5 |
0.47 |
Is Rohit Sharma the Most Successful Captain?
Rohit Sharma is indeed the “most winning percentage captain in India.” Before stepping down as a captain, he’d led India in all three formats. In an 8-year-long captaincy span, he led India in 142 matches. The team won 103 of them. As a captain, hit man Rohit Sharma has a whopping win percentage of 72.53. Also, under his leadership, the W/L ratio of Team India is 3.12.
Rohit Sharma – 72.53 Win% in 142 Matches
- Position: Opening batsman
- Matches as a captain: 142
- Span as captain: 2017-2025
- Won: 103
- Lost: 33
Rohit Sharma is the most successful captain in India cricket team. He has an extraordinary win percentage of 72.53%. Apart from winning bilateral series, Sharma has led India to win the ICC T20 World Cup and the ICC Champions Trophy. He also came the closest to winning the ICC ODI World Cup in 2023. All these accolades list RG Sharma as the most successful captain in India by wins. He is also the most successful captain in India after Dhoni in terms of ICC trophies won.
Did You Know? Rohit Sharma was India’s go-to backup captain during the Virat Kohli era. He led India to overseas Test wins and even the 2018 Asia Cup. When not captaining, he proved to be an excellent deputy to Kohli. So when Kohli gave up captaincy earlier this year, Sharma was the obvious choice.
Who is Successful Captain, Dhoni or Virat?
The second most successful captain in India (in terms of win%) is Virat Kohli. He surpasses Dhoni in this respect by quite a margin. In his captaincy career span of 9 years, Virat has led India in 213 matches (all three formats combined). Of them, India has won 135. The win% of Team India under Kohli’s leadership is 63.38, while that of MS Dhoni is 53.61. Sadly, Kohli isn’t the most successful winning captain in India when it comes to winning major ICC trophies.
Virat Kohli – 63.38 Win% in 213 Matches
- Position: Top-order batsman
- Matches as a captain: 213
- Span as captain: 2013-2022
- Won: 135
- Lost: 60
While Rohit Sharma may be ahead according to the percentage, Virat Kohli captaincy left a much bigger impact as a captain. Among Indian captains who have led the Indian national cricket team in 100+ matches, Kohli has the highest win rate of 63.38%.
He took over from MS Dhoni in 2014 and took India to the top from seventh in the Test rankings. Under Kohli, India played aggressively and didn’t care about the opponent’s reputation.
When Kohli was the India cricket captain, the team won seven Tests in SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand, and Australia) nations. In fact, he led India to their first Test series win in Australia and their first ODI series win in South Africa. India never lost a Test series at home (winning 11 out of 11) with Captain Kohli. He has the most Test as captain in India. By leaps and bounds, Virat Run Machine Kohli is the most successful captain in India test format.
Who is Best, Dhoni or Rohit?
The most successful cricket captain in India by number of wins is indeed Rohit Sharma. His numbers are better than those of MS Dhoni. However, in terms of winning trophies, there is no match to the great Mahendra Singh Dhoni. He has led India to the ICC World T20 title in the very first edition. In 2011, India won the ODI World Cup under Dhoni’s leadership. Later in 2013, Dhoni’s team India clinched the ICC Champions Trophy.
So, who is most successful captain in India? If it’s about winning on the biggest stage, the answer is MS Dhoni.
MS Dhoni: 53.61 Win% in 332 Matches
- Position: Wicket-keeper batsman
- Matches as a captain: 332
- Span as captain: 2007-2018
- Won: 178
- Lost: 120
In international cricket, Dhoni excelled in the ODI format, winning 110 out of 199 50-over games as the skipper of the Men in Blue, resulting in a win percentage of 55.27%.
In Test cricket, Dhoni’s win percentage as captain was 45, while in the T20 format, his leadership saw India achieve a win percentage of 56.90%.
The numbers make Dhoni the most successful captain in ODI cricket in India. He was also the most successful captain of T20 cricket in India. Dhoni also led India to 27 wins from 60 Tests, ranking only behind Kohli.
MS Dhoni is the best captain in India. In addition to several multi-nation series, Dhoni led India to an unprecedented three ICC titles – 2007 World T20, 2011 ODI World Cup, and 2013 Champions Trophy. Under his command, India won 110 out of 200 ODIs. In T20Is, he captained India to 41 wins out of 72.
While numbers tell the story, India’s most successful captain was also about building up a new generation and giving them confidence. Such traits he displayed as IPL captain, too, taking Chennai Super Kings to 9 finals and 4 titles. His heroics won India the inaugural World T20 title after a horrific World Cup in 2007. The 2011 World Cup ended the 28-year wait for an ODI world title.
Honorable Mentions: Successful Indian Team Captains
Sourav Ganguly: 49.74 win percentage in 195 matches
- Position: Batsman
- Matches as a captain: 195
- Span as captain: 1999-2005
- Won: 97
- Lost: 78
MS Dhoni brought India great success. Virat Kohli gave India aggression. But it was Sourav Ganguly who truly gave India self-belief and courage. Ganguly took over the captaincy during Indian cricket’s lowest point – the 1999 match-fixing scandal. After that, he arguably became the best captain in Indian cricket history.
One of his great achievements was taking India to the 2003 World Cup final, where they finished second-best to an invincible Australia. Ganguly also captained India to the 2002 Natwest series in England (and celebrated in an iconic manner at the Lord’s balcony). Under his watch, India won 21 out of 49 Tests and 76 out of 146 ODIs.
His 28 overseas wins are second only behind Kohli’s 29. He was also the first Indian captain to draw a Test series in Australia. More than the on-field successes, however, Ganguly was instrumental in bringing up young talents.
Rahul Dravid: 48.07 Win% in 104 Matches
- Position: Batsman
- Matches as a captain: 104
- Span as captain: 2000-2007
- Won: 50
- Lost: 39
The dependable Rahul Dravid took up the role in 2006. Dravid had previously led the team in Ganguly’s absence, most notably during the 2003-04 Test series in Pakistan. In the first match, captain Dravid helped India win their first Test in Pakistan.
After becoming full-time captain, Dravid led India to historic wins in West Indies and England. He also won his first four ODI series as a captain. He has a positive win-loss record as a captain, winning 8 out of 25 Test matches and 42 out of 79 ODIs.
Rahul Dravid was the captain during India’s disastrous 2007 World Cup campaign. The previous edition’s runners-up, India, crashed out in the group stage, and Dravid gave up captaincy soon after.
Mohammad Azharuddin: 47.05 Win% in 221 Matches
- Position: Batsman
- Matches as a captain: 221
- Span as captain: 1990-1999
- Won: 104
- Lost: 90
While his career ended abruptly and his record was tarnished by the fixing scandal, Mohammad Azharuddin had proven his mettle as the best Indian captain before that. As a captain, he won 14 Tests and 90 ODIs. Those numbers were the best for any Indian captain before Sourav Ganguly and MS Dhoni passed them, respectively.
He was the only Indian captain to whitewash England in both one-day and Test series. India, in fact, won 13 out of the 14 Tests at home under Azhar. The wins came with the criticism that the pitches were prepared to favor the Indian team heavily. Overseas, Azhar had a dismal record as the captain. He did help India win the Asia Cup in Sharjah in 1995 and is also the only Indian captain to lead the team in three World Cups (1992, 1996, 1999).
Kapil Dev: 39.81 Win% in 108 Matches
- Position: All-rounder
- Matches as a captain: 108
- Span as captain: 1982-1987
- Won: 43
- Lost: 40
Kapil Dev might be low on the list according to the win percentage, but he was the best Indian cricket team captain. The star all-rounder led India to an unbelievable triumph in the 1983 World Cup. The visual of him holding the trophy at Lord’s remains iconic. But what do the numbers say?
While his overall stats seem unimpressive, it’s mostly because the Test results rarely went India’s way. Kapil led India in 34 Test matches and could only win four of them. However, he captained India to a historic 2-0 Test series win in England. In the ODIs, however, he guided India to 39 wins out of 74 at a win rate of 54.16.
Sachin Tendulkar: 27.55 Win% in 98 Matches
- Position: Batsman
- Matches as a captain: 98
- Span as captain: 1996-2000
- Won: 27
- Lost: 52
It’s ironic that the two great Indian batsmen arguably were the country’s not as good captains. First, let’s talk about Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar. Tendulkar took over the captaincy from Mohammad Azharuddin in 1996 when he was already a superstar cricketer. However, he could not become a successful captain in India.
Tendulkar led India in 25 Test matches, winning four and losing nine. In ODIs, he won 23 out of 73 and lost 43. The winning percentage in Tests was 16 and in ODIs – 35.07. During this period, he led India on a disastrous tour of Australia, where the team lost all three Tests and won 1 out of 14 ODIs in the tri-series, also featuring Pakistan.
Even worse, his personal form too suffered as Tendulkar’s average in both Tests and ODIs went down as captain. He resigned in 2000 after another 0-2 defeat in Tests to South Africa at home.
Sunil Gavaskar: 27.38 Win% in 43 matches
- Position: Opening batsman
- Matches as a captain: 43
- Span as captain: 1976-1985
- Won: 23
- Lost: 29
The other great batter from India, Sunil Gavaskar, first led in 1976 but was stripped of the captaincy in 1979. He was restored as captain soon after but gave it up completely in 1985.
Under Gavaskar, India won 14 out of 37 ODIs and 9 out of 47 Tests. While the record was less than impressive, there were some highs as well. Gavaskar’s captaincy tenure started with a Test series win at home versus West Indies, and it ended with the World Championship of Cricket triumph in 1985.
Nawab of Pataudi: 22.5 Win% in 40 matches
- Position: Batsman
- Matches as a captain: 40
- Span as captain: 1962-1975
- Won: 9
- Lost: 19
Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi lost vision in his right eye after a car accident and was made India captain months later. All this at the age of 21. He played 46 Tests and led in 40 of them. You can say that 9 wins and 19 defeats make for a mediocre record, but Pataudi gave India confidence.
He was the first India team captain who led to a Test win in New Zealand. India won that series in 1968 3-1, and Pataudi became the Indian captain to guide the side to an overseas Test series win. The high came after a 0-4 loss to Australia at home. The turnaround showed MAK Pataudi’s spirit and confidence as an Indian most successful captain.
Who is Best Captain in India: Final Verdict
There is no denying the fact that India has been home to one of the best cricketers of all time. Not just that, but the nation also boasts the finest leaders of the game! But the question is, who reigns as the best? Let’s try and decode it with facts.
In the realm of cricket, it’s essential to acknowledge that the role of a captain is multifaceted and influenced by various factors. India has been fortunate to witness exceptional leaders at different points in its cricketing history, each significantly steering the team to success when it mattered the most.
- Kapil Dev, the captain who led India to their first World Cup triumph in 1983, will always be remembered for inspiring a generation with that historic win. His leadership and all-round skills were instrumental in India’s success on the biggest stage.
- MS Dhoni, often regarded as one of India’s most successful captains, etched his name in cricketing history with his calm demeanor and remarkable decision-making. Under his captaincy, India achieved numerous ICC titles, including the 2007 ICC World Twenty20, the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup, and the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy.
- Virat Kohli, known for his passion and aggression on the field, has led India with great determination and holds one of the highest win percentages as a captain. His commitment to the team’s cause and ability to lead by example has earned him admiration both as a player and a leader.
- Sourav Ganguly, fondly known as “Dada,” is credited with transforming India’s cricketing culture. He instilled fearlessness and aggression into the team, laying the foundation for India’s success in the years to come. His contributions as a captain were crucial in nurturing young talents and building a formidable team.
- And the list continues from M Azharuddin to RG Sharma (currently the most winning percentage captain in India, 72.53% in all formats).
FAQ
Is Rohit Sharma the most successful Indian captain in all formats?
Yes, Rohit Sharma is hands down the most successful Indian captain in all formats. He led India in 142 matches and won 103 of them. Under his leadership, Team India has won the ICC World T20 & the ICC Champions Trophy.
Who is a more successful captain by wins, Dhoni or Virat?
In terms of the number of matches won, Virat is more successful than Dhoni. The win percentage of Team India under Kohli is 63.38. In contrast, MS Dhoni’s win% is 53.61.
Who is the best captain, Dhoni or Rohit?
Dhoni is the better captain when it comes to winning ICC trophies. Under Rohit, India managed to win the ICC World T20 & the ICC Champions Trophy. However, under Dhoni, India has won all the major ICC trophies.
Who is the most famous captain in Indian cricket?
MS Dhoni is the most famous captain in Indian cricket. He has led India to win all the major ICC trophies.
Who is the most successful captain in India?
By win percentage, Rohit Sharma is the most successful captain in India. However, in terms of ICC trophies won, MS Dhoni is the most successful captain in India.
Who is better captain than Dhoni in India?
Virat Kohli is considered to be a better captain than MS Dhoni in the test format. His aggressive mindset has helped Team India get the better of the opponents in the SENA nations.
Who is the most successful test captain in India?
Virat Kohli is the most successful test captain in India. Under his captaincy, India has played 68 tests and won 40 of them. The win percentage is 58.82%.
Who is the best captain in India?
Rohit Sharma is the most successful captain in India ODIs, Tests, and T20Is combined. Under his leadership, Team India has an overall win percentage of 72.53%.
Who is the most successful ODI captain of India?
Rohit Sharma is the most successful ODI captain of India. He led Team India in 56 matches and won 42 times. The win percentage is 75%. But MS Dhoni is the most successful captain in India ODI in terms of trophies. He led India to win the ICC ODI World Cup in 2013.
Who is the No. 1 captain in cricket?
Australia’s Steve Waugh remains the world best captain in India in cricket history, with a win percentage of 66.25 in 163 matches.
Who is the most successful India T20 captain?
MS Dhoni has the most wins as captain in T20 in India, with 41 wins in 72 games at a win percentage of 59.28.
Who is the best captain in the world?
Steve Waugh is the best captain in the world with a win percentage of 65.23 in Tests and 72.2 in ODIs. His overall win percentage is 68.6.
Who is Best Captain in India?
Mahendra Singh Dhoni lives as the best captain in the history of Indian cricket, considering his success in the major ICC trophies.
Conclusion
Who is the best captain of India? It depends on what you choose to look at. Dhoni has the most ODI wins as captain of India. Virat Kohli has the best percentage in 200+ matches. Rohit Sharma is the best captain of the Indian national cricket team when it comes to the overall win rate.
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