Ranking the top captains in IPL history
Within a short time of its existence, the Indian Premier League has already ranked high in sports betting. Appeared as late as 14 years ago, the championship has seen numerous spectacular cricket combats with the participation of renowned clubs and star players.
The championship has brought us a lot of memorable moments, sensations, and breakthroughs. From one year to another, the tournament has been gaining momentum, and now it’s considered one of the most prestigious sporting events across the globe – the brand value is sky-high, the matchups draw big crowds of fans and punters, and the IPL betting odds are always among the most lucrative ones. Who are they that made this competition so popular? Talented players are, without doubt, of crucial importance, but in a tournament like the Indian Premier League, it’s the leader who plays a pivotal role. He has to act as an intermediary between the coaching staff and the rest of the team. Unlike in other sports, in cricket, a captain is halfway between a coach and a player and has to be able to properly balance the various pressures of dual responsibility. So, in this article, we are going to speak about such greats that manage to do this perfectly well – the best IPL captains. We’d like to highlight not the ones who can brag about a large amount of crore earned, but the most successful captains in IPL history who have led their teams to triumphs.
David Andrew Warner
This former Australian head is noted on our list of most successful captains of the IPL, not incidentally. A brilliant gamechanger, record holder, and “explosive” batsman can’t be overpassed. In 2014, he was contracted by the SRH to lead a team. Although in 2015, they failed to reach the knock-out phase, Warner was recognized as the tournament’s top run-scorer. It was 2016 when he brought his skipper’s talent to light – the leader guided his club to their first title. Then, he had to step down from the captaincy for a while; he gοt on with leading the SRH in 2020 and brought the club to the playoff stage. Overall, the skipper can boast of 26 wins out of the 47 games where he was captaining.
Adam Craig Gilchrist
Adam Gilchrist is also one of the most successful and the greatest wicket-keeper-batsmen in the IPL. He distinguished himself as a skillful leader in 2009 – his guidance sparked the DC to victory in South Africa. He continued his Indian Premier League career by heading Kings XI Punjab, however, the next seasons were not as successful as 2009. He has a moderate win rate of 47.29%. In total, Adam has 35 victories in 74 games to his skipper’s name. He is also notable for being the first player to score 1K runs in the championship.
Shane Keith Warne
Number 4 on our list of most winning captains in the IPL goes to Shane Keith Warne. So-called the Wizard of Spin is known as the best coach among all the Australian Cricket Teammates. His mentees admire his superb intellect and ability to work out unique and effective strategies. Thus, he had shone in the inaugural edition of the league. He graced the season, taking on the dual role of leader and coach for the RR. At that time, the Royals were considered outsiders, and no one even hoped that they would manage to reach the playoffs. But Warne had taken 18 wickets throughout the season, which helped the team on to victory. In sum, as an Indian Premier League skipper, he won over 50% of matches.
Gautam Gambhir
Gautam Gambhir opens the top three IPL winners and captains. For the first years of his captaincy for the Delhi Capitals, he had gained proficiency and sharpened his skills, and even hit record, having scored over 1000 runs.
By 2011, he had become highly esteemed among club owners and the most sought-after talent that was drafted by the Kolkata Knight Riders. The club shelled out $2.4 million for the skipper and never looked back – Gambhir brought the team two trophies in 2012 and 2014. Also, thanks to the skillful leader, the KKR made it into the playoffs in 2016 and 2017. With 71 wins in 129 games, he had reached a total win percentage of 55, which adds him to the IPL winning captains list.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Three-time trophy owner, a record-holder in almost all aspects of wicket-keeping, Mahendra Singh Dhoni is a runner-up in our ranking. Even though he doesn’t have most IPL wins as captain to his name, you can hardly find anyone who would argue that the cricket community has never seen a better mentor than Mahendra Singh Dhoni (aka Mahi). His ability to maintain composure in challenging situations and his uncanny insight have amazed us throughout his career. Mahi can brag about a record number of the Indian Premier League matches under his captaincy, an unbeaten winning run in Test cricket, and many international trophies and awards.
In his league career, one time with the RPS and ten times with the CSK, the Indian mentor has summarily brought his sides eleven record-breaking times to the playoffs, with the overall percentage of wins reaching 60%. For the CSK, Mahi won 3 titles – in 2010, 2011, and 2018.
Rohit Gurunath Sharma
Rohit Gurunath Sharma, with the most number of IPL titles, comes first on this list. He surpasses Mahi only because of a larger number of the tournament trophies. The skipper brought the Mumbai Indians nothing but victories and glory. He started his way as a skipper in 2013, and under his leadership, his team triumphed in five Indian Premier League seasons – 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2020! With 70 victories in 116 matches, his win percentage exceeds 60! Moreover, Sharma holds the record for finishing the game by scoring a last-ball six and is the only one who managed to score a hundred and take a hat trick, notably against his future team when playing for the DC. This again proves that he’s the greatest skipper in the history of the league!
