IPL 2021: 5 players with most IPL matches as captain

3. Virat Kohli - 126 IPL matches

RCB's Captain Virat Kohli in the photoshoot of RCB ahead of the IPL 2021. pic.twitter.com/u6x3csniP1

— CricketMAN2 (@man4_cricket) April 7, 2021

Virat Kohli has represented the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL since day one. The right-handed batsman was a U-19 player when RCB drafted him into their squad. At the moment, he is the face of the franchise.

Virat made his IPL captaincy debut in 2011, and 2013 was the first season where he became Bangalore's full-time skipper. So far, Kohli has led the Bangalore-based franchise in 126 matches, recording 56 wins and 63 defeats.

His win percentage is below 50 right now, but looking at how the Royal Challengers Bangalore have begun their IPL 2021 campaign, it seems likely Virat Kohli's win percentage will improve before the 2022 edition of the tournament.

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2. Gautam Gambhir - 129 matches

Gautam Gambhir played an instrumental role in KKR's success

Former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir will go down as one of the most successful captains in IPL history. The left-handed batsman led the Delhi Capitals (then Delhi Daredevils) in the initial seasons before moving to the Kolkata Knight Riders.

Gambhir brought his 'A' game to the table at KKR, both as a player and as a captain. He guided the Knight Riders to the title in 2012 and 2014. Even in the seasons where KKR did not win the championship, they always performed well in the league stage.

Surprisingly, Gambhir left Kolkata after 2017. He wished to end his career with the Delhi-based franchise. However, he could not finish his journey on a grand note as the Delhi Daredevils struggled under his captaincy in 2018.

Overall, Gambhir played the skipper's role 129 times in IPL history, where his team registered 71 victories and 57 defeats.

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1. MS Dhoni - 189 matches

Only Captain from 2008 IPL to feature in 2021 IPL. 🦁The Name is MS DHONI. 😎🔥#WelcomeDhoni | ICONIC MSD RETURNS pic.twitter.com/qEE2AOoZbc

— Telugu MSDians™ (@TeluguMSDians) April 10, 2021

MS Dhoni held the record for the most successful IPL skipper for quite some time before Rohit Sharma shattered his record. Dhoni has been the leader of the Chennai Super Kings team since the 2008 season.

After CSK received a suspension after IPL 2015, Dhoni skippered the Rising Pune Supergiant in a few games. The wicket-keeper batsman has captained 189 times in the IPL, with his team emerging victorious 110 times.

Unfortunately, Dhoni's team could not get off to a winning start in IPL 2021. The Delhi Capitals beat them by seven wickets in Mumbai. Nevertheless, CSK are famous for making comebacks in the tournament.

If MS Dhoni captains the Chennai-based franchise in all league games this year, he could become the first player to lead a team 200 times in the IPL.