5 captains with most wins across all three formats

The role of a captain is of utmost importance in a cricket team as he is the man that runs the show on the field. This is precisely the reason why the captain wins accolades when the team wins and gets criticised the most whenever it loses.

The history of cricketer has seen many great captains who have taken their respective teams to great heights of success. Quite a few of them have skippered their national team in all three formats of the game and have done well, too.

Among these, some have been hugely successful and have more than 100 international victories under their belt. Here are 5 captains with most wins across all three formats:

5. Mahela Jayawardene – 101

Legendary Sri Lankan batsman Mahela Jayawardene played the role of captain in 186 matches during his career. He was the skipper of his national team in 38 Tests, 126 ODIs and 19 T20Is. Apart from that, Jayawardene has also captained the Asia XI side in 3 one-day internationals against Africa XI and his team won all of them.

Across the three formats of the game, the iconic Sri Lankan recorded a total of 101 victories, making him one of his country's most successful captains. Jayawardene led the national team to 18 wins in Tests, 68 in ODIs and 12 in the shortest format. During his tenure as skipper, Mahela Jayawardene led Sri Lanka in 2 World T20s and a World Cup.

4. Stephen Fleming – 128

Stephen Fleming is remembered as a shrewd tactician

New Zealand's longest serving captain of all time, Stephen Fleming, is among the iconic figures in the country's cricket. Over a period of 10 years starting from 1997, Fleming led the Kiwis in both Tests and ODIs and later also in the T20I format. The left-handed batsman was captain in 80 Tests, 218 ODIs and 5 T20Is.

In his time at the helm for New Zealand, Fleming was able to record as many as 128 wins in 303 matches. This included 28 victories in the longest format and 218 and 5 respectively in 50-overs cricket and T20Is. Stephen Fleming led his national team in 3 back-to-back World Cups between the years 1999 and 2007.

3. Graeme Smith – 163

Graeme Smith took up the mantle of captain very early in his career

Former South African cricketer Graeme Smith began his journey as a prolific opening batsman but was soon handed over the reins of the national team. However, he carried out this responsibility with great skill and ended up being one of the finest skippers of all time for South Africa.

Smith captained the Proteas team in 286 international matches, which included 108 Tests, 149 one-day internationals and 27 T20I matches. Additionally, he also was skipper of the ICC World XI in a Test match. Out of these, Graeme Smith led his team to success in 53 Tests, 92 ODIs and 18 T20Is.

Apart from the 2007 and 2011 World Cups, South Africa played the 2007, 2009 and 2010 World T20 tournaments under Smith's leadership.

2. MS Dhoni – 175

MS Dhoni is considered to be India’s best limited-overs skipper ever

India's current limited-overs captain, MS Dhoni, has been one of the greatest servants of the game in recent years. After exploding on the scene as an hard-hitting wicketkeeper-batsman, Dhoni climbed up the ladder to be counted among the finest Indian captains ever. So far, the Ranchi-born cricketer has led India in a record 324 matches.

This figure takes into account 60 Tests, 194 ODIs and 70 T20Is and although Dhoni has retired from Test cricket, he continues to play the shorter formats. Along with his 27 wins in Test matches, MS Dhoni has led India to victory in 107 one-dayers and 41 T20 internationals. He has led the Indians in every major ICC tournament since the 2007 World T20.

Dhoni is the only captain in world cricket to have won a World Cup as well as a World Twenty20 title.

1. Ricky Ponting - 220

Ricky Ponting has a phenomenal record as captain

Former Australian cricketer Ricky Ponting is considered to be one of the best batsmen to have set foot on a cricket field. However, he is also among the most successful skippers in the game and achieved unprecedented success across formats. Ponting led Australia in 77 Tests, 229 ODIs and 17 T20Is and also captained the ICC World XI in a one-day international.

The Aussies won a staggering 48 Test matches and 164 ODIs with Ricky Ponting in command. His record as T20 captain, though, was not that great as Australia won just 7 games under him. The great cricketer led his country to back-to-back World Cup titles in 2003 and 2007 while also captaining the team in 2011.

Ponting was also the Australian captain during the first 2 editions of the ICC World Twenty20.