Many cricketers have shown the world that they are the best in their field. Some are great bowlers and some are legendary batsmen. So let’s look at the list of best captains in cricket history.
1. MS Dhoni
Former Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the right-handed batsman and wicket-keeper. He made his ODI debut on 23rd December 2004 against Bangladesh. He is the only Indian captain to win three ICC trophies: ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, ICC T20 World Cup 2007 and ICC Champions Trophy 2013. He is the first Indian wicketkeeper-batsmen to complete 4,000 test runs. Dhoni is also known for his wicketkeeping skills and his genius captaincy.
2. Ricky Ponting
Former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting was a right-handed batsman. He made his ODI debut on 15th February 1995 against South Africa. He is the top run-scorer for Australia and a two-time World Cup winning captain. He holds the record to win 100 Test matches. As a captain, Ricky Ponting has played most ODIs. If we mix both Test and ODI formats, he has won 165 and 213 games as a captain respectively.
3. Stephen Fleming
Former New Zealand skipper Stephen Fleming was left-handed batsmen. He made his ODI debut on 25th March 1994 against India. He remains New Zealand’s leading run-scorer. In 2000, Stephen led his team to victory in ICC Knockout Trophy.
4. Graeme Smith
Former South African skipper was a left-handed batsman. He made his ODI debut on 30th March 2002 against Australia. He is served one of the most ODI matches as captain. He has broken foreign records for the highest score in Lord’s Cricket Stadium. In 149 ODIs as captain of South Africa, he won 92 matches.
5. Allan Border
Former Australian skipper Allan Border was a left-handed batsman. He had made his ODI debut on 13th January 1979 against England. The legend became the third player on record to go beyond 150 in every innings against Pakistan at Lahore. In the Test match against New Zealand in 1993, he became the highest run-getter in Test matches leaving Indian legend Sunil Gavaskar’s 10122 runs record behind.
6. Arjuna Ranatunga
Former Sri Lankan skipper Arjuna Ranatunga was the left-handed batsman. He made his ODI debut on 14th February 1982 against England. He holds the record for most test matches as a captain of the Sri Lankan team. Sri Lanka had won World Cup in 1996 and six multilateral events under his captaincy.
7. Mohammad Azharuddin
Former Indian captain Mohammad Azharuddin was a right-handed batsman. He made his ODI debut on 20th January 1985 against England. He has caught 150 catches in International cricket. Under his captaincy, the Indian team has won 47 ODIs and 14 Tests matches. He later became infamous due to the match-fixing scandal. Bollywood has also made a film of his biography starring Imran Hashmi.
8. Virat Kohli
The current Indian skipper Virat Kohli is a right-handed batsman. He made his ODI debut on August 18 2008 against Sri Lanka. Virat had taken over command after MS Dhoni stepped down as a captain in 2017. He has achieved the milestone of becoming the fastest 10,000 ODI runs scorer. He also broke the record for scoring 20,000 runs in International cricket in the 2019 World Cup. He became the first captain to win the ODI series in South Africa by 5-1. Currently, he is the highest-paid cricketer.
9. Sourav Ganguly
Former Indian captain and current President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) was a left-handed batsman. He made his ODI debut on 11th January 1992 against West Indies. Sourav Ganguly is the only player to achieve catching 100 balls, taking 100 wickets and scoring 10,000 runs in ODIs.
10. Hansie Cronje
Former South African skipper Hansie Cronje was a right-handed batsman. He made his ODI debut on 26th February 1992 against Australia. As a captain, he led South Africa to 53 Test victories and 138 ODI victories.
