Top 5 Most Successful Captains In History Of Indian Premier League
Apr 22, 2017 at 4:55 PM
The Indian Premier League has come a long way. What began as an experiment ten year ago in 2008, has now transformed into the biggest cricket league in the world. Over the past decade, it has survived several ups and downs such as match fixing, corruption charges and changes in five teams either through suspension or takeover.
But what has remained constant through all these years is the top brand of cricket from only the big names but also from the little known domestic players. With so much at stake in this lucrative league, the players are bound to do well at every possible opportunity or otherwise they risk being dropped from the team.
So, one can easily understand the pressure on the captain of an IPL outfit. But over the years, the league has been graced by some brilliant captains who have been very successful in leading the teams.
So here we are looking at top 5 most successful captains in the history of the Indian Premier League:
5. Adam Gilchrist (35 wins):
The legendary wicketkeeper-batsman began his IPL career with the now-defunct Deccan Chargers and led the team in the second half of the league in the absence of regular captain VVS Laxman, who was ruled out for the rest of the tournament due to injury. Gilchrist did not enjoy a successful outing as a skipper as his team came last, winning only two of 14 matches.
In the 2009 season, he was installed as captain in place of Laxman and the decision turned out to be a masterstroke as he led the Hyderabad-based outfit to their maiden IPL title. In the third season, he led the team to the semifinals before moving to Kings XI Punjab in the following season. He retired from the IPL in 2013.
Overall, he led in 74 matches and won 35 of them while losing the other 39. Gilchrist’s win percent in the IPL was 47.29.
4. Virat Kohli (37 wins):
The current India skipper has been with Royal Challengers Bangalore right from the inaugural season of the IPL. He did not enjoy a lot of success in the first three years of IPL as a batsman but the franchise retained him ahead of the fourth edition and appointed him the vice-captain. He was appointed the captain of the team before the sixth edition in 2013 and led the team to fifth-place finish that year. In the next two seasons, the Royal Challengers finished seventh and qualified for the playoffs respectively before making it to the summit clash in 2016 where they lost to Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Overall, Kohli has led the Bangalore-based side in 75 matches so far, winning 37 of them and losing 33 with a win percentage of 52.77.
3. Rohit Sharma (38 wins)
One of the most successful skippers in the history of the tournament, Rohit Sharma began his career at Deccan Chargers before moving to his current team, Mumbai Indians in 2011.
Later, he was later promoted to the permanent captaincy of the team the 2013 season due to Ricky Ponting’s poor form. The decision changed the fortunes of the team as they went on to win the IPL title for the first time that season. He also led the team to Champions League T20 glory in that very year. Once again in 2015, he helped Mumbai Indians to win the IPL title by beating Chennai Super Kings by 41 runs in final.
Overall, he has led Mumbai to 38 victories in 63 matches with a win percentage of 60.31.
2. Gautam Gambhir (65 wins):
The discarded India opener began his IPL career with Delhi Daredevils in 2008 and was appointed the captain of the team in 2010 where he led the team to fifth place. In the following season, he was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders and was appointed the skipper of the team right away. In his first season, he led them to the playoffs. In the next season, he went one step better and led the side to their first title in 2012 by defeating defending champions Chennai Super Kings. In 2014, he led them to the title once again, defeating Kings XI Punjab in the final.
Overall, he has led in 112 IPL matches, won 65 and lost 46 of them at a win percentage of 58.48.
1. Mahendra Singh Dhoni (83 wins):
At number one in this list is MS Dhoni. India’s most decorated skipper began his IPL career as the captain of the now-suspended Chennai Super Kings in 2008 before moving to Rising Pune Supergiant in the 2016 season after the Super Kings were suspended due to corruption charges. He led the Super Kings to two back-to-back IPL trophies (2010 and 2011) in addition to leading them to the playoffs in every season till 2015. He also led them to a record two Champions League T20 titles.
Overall, he has led in 143 IPL matches. Under his leadership, CSK has won 83 IPL games and lost 59 matches with a win percentage of 58.45.
*Stats are correct up to April 18, 2017