Who Are the Best Captains in IPL History? Find Out Here!

April 10, 2025 5 minutes Posted by - vegas11

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CSK's best ambassador, Dhoni, has served as an IPL team captain 226 times. Not only does he hold the record for the most appearances as captain, but his win rate also exceeds 59%. To this day, no one has surpassed Dhoni's records.

However, in IPL history, besides Dhoni, there have also been other outstanding captains such as Virat and Rohit Sharma. So, who truly is the best IPL captain？ Let’s find out！

Top 3 Best Captains in IPL History

NO.1 MS Dhoni

At 43 years old, Dhoni is an exceptional wicketkeeper who not only holds the record as India's highest-scoring wicketkeeper but has also set the record for the most appearances as a captain, excelling in both roles.

In 2018, India honored Dhoni with the Padma Bhushan, the country's third-highest civilian award, for his remarkable achievements in cricket history.

Historic Records：

India's highest-scoring wicketkeeper
Most dismissals by an Indian wicketkeeper
Most stumpings by a wicketkeeper globally
Indian captain with the most sixes
Indian ODI captain with the most wins
Player with the most matches as captain in international cricket

NO.2 Rohit Sharma

At 37 years old, Rohit is the current captain of the Indian national cricket team. In 2024, he led the team to victory against South Africa, securing the T20 championship. Under his leadership, his IPL team has also claimed five championship trophies.

Not only is Rohit an outstanding captain, but he’s also one of the players with the most "Player of the Match" honors in IPL history and one of only seven players to surpass 5,000 career runs in the IPL. go to Vegas11 and support Sharma.

Historic Records：

Named ICC ODI Player of the Year in 2019
The only Indian player to participate in every T20 World Cup from 2007 to 2022
The only player to achieve three double centuries in ODIs
The player with the most sixes in international cricket
Most centuries in World Cup history

NO.3 Virat Kohli

Virat is the player with the most appearances as captain of the Indian national cricket team, leading the team in 68 matches with a win rate of 58%, the highest win rate for any Indian captain.

He also guided the RCB team to four IPL playoffs and currently holds the record for the most appearances in IPL history.

Historic Records：

Highest win rate as captain of the Indian national team
Most appearances in IPL history
Player with the most centuries in a single IPL season
The player with the most centuries in IPL history

IPL Captain Records Ranking

The Most Captaincy Appearances in IPL		Matches Played	Wins	Losses	Win Percentage%
NO.1	Mahendra Singh Dhoni	226	133	91	57.9%
NO.2	Rohit Sharma	158	87	67	56.32%
NO.3	Virat Kohli	143	66	70	48.56%
NO.4	Gautam Gambhir	129	71	57	55.42%
NO.5	David Warner	83	40	41	49.39%
NO.6	Adam Gilchrist	74	35	39	47.29%
NO.7	Shreyas Iyer	55	27	26	50.90%
NO.8	Shane Warne	55	30	24	55.45%
NO.9	Virender Sehwag	53	28	24	53.77%
NO.10	K. L. Rahul	51	25	24	50.98%

Top IPL Captains by Win Rate		Matches Played	Wins	Losses	Win Percentage%
NO.1	Hardik Pandya	31	22	9	70.96%
NO.2	Steve Smith	43	25	17	59.52%
NO.3	Mahendra Singh Dhoni	226	133	91	59.37%
NO.4	Sachin Tendulkar	51	30	21	58.82%
NO.5	Anil Kumble	26	15	11	57.69%
NO.6	Rohit Sharma	158	87	67	56.32%
NO.7	Gautam Gambhir	129	71	57	55.42%
NO.8	Shane Warne	55	30	24	55.45%
NO.9	Rishabh Pant	30	16	13	55.00%
NO.10	Virender Sehwag	53	28	24	53.77%

The Worst IPL Captains		Matches Played	Wins	Losses	Win Percentage%
NO.1	David Miller	6	1	5	16.66%
NO.2	Kevin Pietersen	17	3	14	17.65%
NO.3	Aaron Finch	10	2	8	20.00%
NO.4	Brendon McCullum	14	3	11	21.43%
NO.5	Aiden Markram	13	4	9	30.77%
NO.6	J.P. Duminy	16	7	9	43.75%
NO.7	Nitish Rana	14	6	8	42.86%
NO.8	Glenn Maxwell	14	7	7	50.00%
NO.9	Mayank Agarwal	14	7	7	50.00%
NO.10	David Hussey	12	6	6	50.00%

2024 IPL Team Captain Win Percentage Ranking

Rank	Team	Captain	2024 Performing	Wins	Losses	Win Percentage%
NO.1	KKR	Shreyas Iyer	Champion	9	3	75%
NO.2	SRH	Pat Cummins	Runner-up	8	2	61.54%
NO.3	RR	Sanju Samson	3rd	8	2	61.54%
NO.4	RCB	Faf du Plessis	4th	7	7	50%
NO.5	CSK	Ruturaj Gaikwad	5th	7	7	50%
NO.6	DC	Rishabh Pant	6th	7	7	50%
NO.7	LSG	KL Rahul	7th	7	7	50%
NO.8	GT	Shubman Gill	8th	5	7	41.67%
NO.9	PBKS	Shikhar Dhawan	9th	5	9	35.57%
NO.10	MI	HH Pandya	10th	4	10	28.57%

Who Is The Best Captain In IPL 2024？

Pat Cummins, as the captain of SRH in IPL 2024, played a pivotal role in transforming the team’s performance.

After a disappointing finish in 2023, where SRH ended up at the bottom of the standings, Cummins redeveloped the team's batting strategies and restructured the bowling line-up. His leadership helped the team exceed expectations, propelling them to the finals.

Despite ultimately losing to KKR, SRH’s performance in 2024 was a significant improvement, highlighting Cummins' tactical acumen and ability to inspire the team to perform beyond its perceived limitations. His leadership was crucial to SRH’s success, especially given the absence of a top-tier squad.

Who Is The Captain In IPL 2025？

Chennai Super Kings – MS Dhoni
Delhi Capitals – Axar Patel
Gujarat Titans – Shubman Gill
Kolkata Knight Riders – Ajinkya Rahane
Lucknow Super Giants – Rishabh Pant
Mumbai Indians – Rohit Sharma
Punjab Kings – Shreyas Iyer
Rajasthan Royals – Sanju Samson (Riyan Parag led in early matches due to injury)
Royal Challengers Bangalore – Rajat Patidar
Sunrisers Hyderabad – Pat Cummins

The player lists were largely set after the November 2024 auction. To get a head start on which team might take home the title, consider following Vegas11's championship predictions for insights on potential winners.

Keep up with their forecasts to increase your chances of success in IPL-related betting.