Cricket World Cup History: Top 3 players with most matches as captain in World Cup history

The twelfth edition of the biggest tournament in the World Cricket - the 'ICC Cricket World Cup' is set to kick off from May, 30 in England and Wales. All the teams will be led by their respective captains in the World Cup. The captain of the side is the head of his team and has all the authority to make decisions be it on the field or off the field.

The skipper is given the credit for the success of his team while he is also held accountable for the flop show of his team. The role of the captain of the team becomes more crucial in a big tournament like the World Cup. It is a very important job to take the right calls in crunch situations.

The World of Cricket has witnessed many great captains like Clive Llyod, Ricky Ponting, MS Dhoni and many others. We have mentioned about the top three players who led their side for the most number of matches in the World Cup.

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#3 Mohammad Azharuddin (23 Matches)

Mohammad Azharuddin led India in 3 World Cups

Former Indian captain Mohammad Azharuddin is at third place on this list. Mohammad Azharuddin who holds the record for hitting three consecutive centuries in his first three Test matches made his ODI captaincy debut in 1990.

Like every skipper on this list, Mohammad Azharuddin also led his team in three World Cup tournaments - 1992, 1996 and in 1999. The Hyderabadi player has led the Indian team in 23 matches in the World Cup. However, India did not taste enough success in the World Cups under his leadership.

Team India managed to win only 10 matches while they lost 12 matches during his captaincy in the World Cups. The Mohammad Azharuddin-led Indian team won only 45.45% of their matches from 1992 to 1999 in the World Cup.

The elegant right-hander had a decent batting record in the tournament, averaging 39.33 with the bat and having the highest score of 93.

#2 Stephen Fleming (27 Matches)

Stephen Fleming was one of the Kiwi's most successful captains of all-time

The former New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming is second on this list. The Southpaw who made his World Cup debut in 1996 got an opportunity to lead the Kiwis in the 1999 World Cup and remained the captain till the 2007 tournament in the Carribean.

Stephen Fleming who led New Zealand to the Champions Trophy triumph in 2000 had been the Kiwi's skipper in 27 World Cup matches. The Black Caps won 16 matches under his leadership while losing 10.

Stephen Fleming was one of the finest captains who marshalled his troops to commendable feats. However, his captaincy and leadership skills are not favoured by the stats and numbers as New Zealand managed to win only 44.95% matches under his captaincy.

This win percentage rises to 61.43 in the World Cup matches. He had led New Zealand to two World Cup Semi-Finals (1999 and 2007), crashing out to Pakistan and Sri Lanka respectively.

The left-handed batsman had a modest record in the World Cup as a batsman. The southpaw accumulated 882 runs at an average of about 37 as a captain in the World Cups.

#1 Ricky Ponting (29 Matches)

Ricky Ponting is the most successful captain in the history of the World Cups

The most successful World Cup captain of all-time, Ricky Ponting undoubtedly leads this list. The former Australian captain led Australia to victories in both the 2003 and the 2007 editions.

Punter also led the side in the 2011 World Cup, where they crashed out against eventual Champions India in the quarterfinals. Overall, Ponting led Australia in 29 matches in the World Cup and ‘the kangaroos’ had tasted victory in 26 matches, losing only 2 games.

Australia had won 92.85% matches in the World Cup under the captaincy of Ricky Thomas Ponting. Punter who made his World Cup debut in 1996 also holds the record of playing the most number of matches (46) in history of the World Cup.

The most successful Australian batsman and captain in ODIs - Ricky Ponting also holds the record of the best batting performance as captain in the World Cup. The right-hander amassed 1160 runs at an average of 52.72 as the captain in the World Cups.