In this article, we have tried to establish who is the best captain in IPL history. We have considered only those skippers who have led their franchises in at least 10 matches.
| Most Successful Captains in IPL History | ||||
| Captain | IPL Matches Led | Matches Won | Matches Lost | Success Percentage |
| Rohit Sharma | 116 | 70 | 45 | 60.34 |
| Steve Smith | 42 | 25 | 17 | 59.52 |
| MS Dhoni | 188 | 110 | 77 | 58.82 |
| Sachin Tendulkar | 51 | 30 | 21 | 58.82 |
| Cameron White | 12 | 7 | 5 | 58.33 |
Who Is the Most Successful Captain in the IPL?
1. Rohit Sharma
Rohit Sharma’s IPL captaincy record speaks for itself. He has won 70 out of 116 matches as captain, registering the highest win percentage amongst IPL captains of 60.34. Sharma is inarguably the best captain of IPL, having led Mumbai Indians to five titles in eight years at the helm.
2. Steve Smith
Former Australian skipper Steve Smith has had enough experience of captaincy at the international level as well as league level. In 2017 he was appointed skipper of Rising Pune Supergiant, in place of Dhoni. Smith led the franchise to the final where they lost to MI by a solitary run. Smith has also skippered Rajasthan Royals in a few seasons. With 25 wins registered in 42 matches on his watch, Smith has a win percentage of 59.52, second only to that of Rohit Sharma.
3. MS Dhoni
MS Dhoni has been considered one of the world’s best captains. Dhoni is the only player to have captained a side in the inaugural IPL 2008 edition who is still leading a team in the league. CSK has won three IPL titles on Dhoni’s watch. The former India skipper has led IPL franchises in 188 matches, winning 110 to establish a winning percentage of 58.82.
4. Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar compensated for his lack of success leading India in international cricket by captaining Mumbai Indians with a high degree of success in the IPL. Though MI did not win any IPL trophy on Tendulkar’s watch, they won 30 out of 51 matches in which they were led by Sachin, which translated into a win percentage of 58.82.
5. Cameron White
Former Australian player Cameron White featured for RCB, Deccan Chargers, and Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL. In 2012, he took over the captaincy of DC mid-season from Kumar Sangakkara. He also captained the SRH side in the following season. In the 12 matches White captained, 7 were won by his team, giving Cameron a success percentage of 58.33 in the tournament.
Captains Who Have Led Their Teams to IPL Titles
The question, “who is the most successful captain in IPL?” can also be decided by finding out who has won the most IPL titles for his franchise.
Rohit Sharma
The current Mumbai Indians skipper, Rohit Sharma, has led his franchise to the most IPL titles. MI has won five IPL trophies with Sharma at the helm. In 2013, MI won their maiden IPL trophy beating CSK led by Dhoni in the final. MI batted first and made 148/9 before keeping CSK down to 125/9. In 2015, MI became IPL champions for the 2nd time, again beating the Dhoni-led CSK in the title match. Batting first, MI scored 202/5 before restricting CSK to 161/8. MI’s 3rd IPL trophy came in the 2017 season when they beat Rising Pune Supergiant led by Steve Smith in the final. Batting first, MI scored 129/8. In reply, RPS scored 128/6 handing MI a one-run win. MI won their 4th title in 2019, beating Dhoni’s CSK in the final. Batting first they made 149/8 before restricting CSK to 148/7 for another one-run victory. In 2020, Sharma led MI to their 5th IPL trophy, beating the Shreyas Iyer-led Delhi Capitals in the final match. DC batted first and scored 156/7 before MI chased down the target with 5 wickets and 8 balls to spare.
MS Dhoni
Dhoni who leads Chennai Super Kings in the ongoing IPL season has led his franchise to three IPL titles. CSK won their first IPL title on Dhoni’s watch in 2010 when they beat MI Indians by 22 runs in the final. Batting first in the game, CSK scored 168/5. In reply, MI could manage no more than 146/9. In 2011, Dhoni led CSK to a successful defense of their title, when they beat RCB, led by Daniel Vettori, in the final. Batting first, CSK made 205/5 before restricting RCB to 147/8 in their 20-over innings. In 2018, CSK won their 3rd IPL trophy under Dhoni. In the final, they faced Sunrisers Hyderabad who was led by Kane Williamson. Batting first SRH scored 178/6.
Gautam Gambhir
Gambhir, the former skipper of Kolkata Knight Riders, who led his franchise to two IPL trophies in 2012 and 2014 was once considered the best captain in IPL. In 2012, KKR chased down a target of 191 set by the Dhoni-led CSK with 5 wickets to spare. In 2014, KKR faced Kings XI Punjab led by George Bailey in the title match. Batting first, KXIP scored 199/4. In reply, KKR scored 200/3 in 19.3 overs.
David Warner
In 2016, Warner led SRH to their only IPL title. SRH batted first and scored 208/7. In reply, RCB led by Virat Kohli fell tantalizingly short of the target, managing to score only 200/7.
Shane Warne
Warne led Rajasthan Royals to their only IPL title in the inaugural season of the league in 2008. In the final, Royals clashed with CSK. Batting first in that game, CSK scored 163/5 before Royals chased down the target with three wickets to spare, on the last ball.
Adam Gilchrist
Gilchrist skippered the now-defunct Deccan Chargers franchise in their successful title run in IPL 2009. In the final of that edition, Chargers were challenged for the title by Royal Challengers Bangalore led by Anil Kumble. Batting first in the game, DC scored 143/6 before restricting RCB to 137/9 in their allotted overs.
Conclusion
At cric-life.com, we believe that Rohit Sharma is inarguably the best IPL team captain.
