IPL: Most successful captains in tournament history

You think of Clive Lloyd, you think of Kapil Dev, and the images of them holding the World Cup trophy aloft in the Lord’s balcony just hit you in the face. Similarly, some names come unbidden to mind whenever you think of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

The reason why MS Dhoni is called ‘Thala’ and why people mistake his hometown to be Chennai is because of the enormous success he has had as the Chennai Super Kings captain. The former India captain not only has the highest wins under his belt across 12 editions but has also captained an IPL side more than anybody else.

Boasting an overall win percentage of 60.11, he has led the Chennai Super Kings to three IPL titles – two in as many years in 2010 and 2011. The third one came in the 2018 season, the year which saw their ban lifted.

However, in terms of bagging the winners medal, Rohit Sharma claims the bragging rights, having led the Mumbai Indians to a record four IPL titles. Such was his impact that he won the Mumbai franchise its maiden title in his first season as captain in 2013.

Sharma has since led the team to title glory in alternate years, enjoying a win percentage of 58.65. Captaining the Mumbai Indians on 104 occasions has also led many pundits pip Rohit Sharma to take over the reins of the Indian white-ball setup.

Rohit Sharma has 4 IPL wins as captain, while MS Dhoni has three. Credits: Times Now

India were playing New Zealand in a Test match at the Eden Gardens and Gautam Gambhir ran onto the field with drinks to the most gigantic of roars from the crowd. Such has been his popularity in the city ever since he was made the face of the Kolkata Knight Riders in 2011.

The southpaw led them to their maiden playoff berth in that very season before leading KKR to titles in alternate years in 2012 and 2014. The Delhi lad stood out in the way he rallied the team, instilled the belief in the players, and sometimes sacrificed his usual opening slot to let others maximize the powerplay overs, thus leading by example.

Gautam Gambhir led KKR to two IPL trophies in 2012 and 2014. Credits: InsideSport

Although Virat Kohli is often trolled for not having won any silverware with the Royal Challengers Bangalore, his side has often left the imprint of being the most entertaining of the lot. He once almost led them to IPL glory single-handedly, amassing a record 973 runs in the 2016 season.

Kohli's captaincy numbers are not bad either. Having led the RCB in 110 matches, the second-highest number of times anyone has led a single franchise, the current Indian captain has an overall win percentage of 47.16.

The 'one-season wonders' in the IPL

Rajasthan Royals won the inaugural edition in 2008. Credits: Quora

Apart from the big names, some fall under the ‘one-season wonder’ category in terms of captaincy. And, there are quite a few Aussies on this list. After leading the Rajasthan Royals to glory in the inaugural edition of the IPL in 2008, Shane Warne could not help them finish above sixth before retiring in 2011.

Then there is George Bailey, who came out of the blue to lead the Kings XI Punjab to their best finish, runners-up in 2014, before disappearing after just another season at the helm. However, the most successful of the lot is Adam Gilchrist, who led the now-defunct Deccan Chargers to an IPL triumph in 2009 with a Man-of-the-Tournament performance.

There is another Aussie rapidly climbing the rungs, having led the Sunrisers Hyderabad to their maiden IPL title in 2016. David Warn has won a staggering 26 of the 47 games in charge of the Hyderabad franchise. Having missed the 2018 edition owing to the ICC ban on him for ball-tampering, he will look to climb further up the charts in the upcoming edition of the IPL in the UAE.