IPL Best Captain: Who is the best captain in the Indian Premier League?

IPL Best Captain: The SportsRush present before you a list of top captains over the years in the Indian Premier League.

It is that time of the year when the 13th season of the Indian Premier League is starting to being discussed. With all the eight franchises having released and retained players for the next season, all eyes are now on IPL 2020 auction which is slated to happen next month.

With the tournament being played for over a decade, it is easy to make a comparison between players at this point in time. As far as captains are concerned, Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma is the most successful captain with respect to winning IPL titles (4).

Not considering only titles, let us observe which captain has the best winning percentage in the tournament (minimum match captained = 30).

IPL Best Captain

MS Dhoni (Winning % – 60.11)

Chennai Super Kings captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the only cricketer to have played 11 seasons of the Indian Premier League as captain. Dhoni has led Super Kings to three titles in 2010, 2011 and 2018 respectively.

Other than leading Chennai for a decade, Dhoni has also led Rising Pune Supergiant for a season when the former was suspended from the tournament.

In the 174 matches that CSK and RPS have played under Dhoni, they have won 104 and lost 69. The 38-year old cricketer is also the only captain to have a winning percentage above 60 in the IPL.

Sachin Tendulkar (Winning % – 58.82)

While not many would have expected the same but legendary batsman Sachin Tendulkar is the second most successful IPL captain in our list. In the 51 matches that Mumbai Indians played under Tendulkar from 2008-2011, they won 30 and lost 21.

While Tendulkar couldn’t lead Indians to an IPL title, he led them from the front with the bat in hand. In IPL 2010, Tendulkar was the leading run-scorer of the season whilst the captain of Mumbai.

In 15 matches, Tendulkar had scored 618 runs at an average of 47.53 and a strike rate of 132.61 including five half-centuries as MI ended the season as the runners-up.

Rohit Sharma (Winning % – 58.65)

Rohit Sharma achieved in only his first season what other Mumbai captains couldn’t do for the team, i.e., win the tournament. Having won four seasons (2013, 2015, 2017 and 2019), Sharma surpassed the legendary Dhoni in this aspect earlier this year.

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In 104 IPL matches under Sharma, Indians have won 60 and lost 42. It was on the back of Sharma’s stellar record as an IPL captain that talks of him leading India in T20Is erupted.

Shane Warne (Winning % – 55.45)

Legendary Australia spinner Shane Warne surprised one and all after Rajasthan Royals won the inaugural season of the IPL under him in 2008. Playing as the sheer underdogs, Royals thrived under Warne as they defeated Super Kings in the final of IPL 2008.

Having led Royals from 2008 to 2011, Warne led them to 30 wins and 24 losses in 55 matches. It is worth mentioning that Warne is currently Rajasthan’s brand ambassador in the IPL.

Gautam Gambhir (Winning % – 55.42)

Gautam Gambhir, who was instrumental as captain for Kolkata Knight Riders in the tournament, led them to the titles in 2012 and 2014. While Gambhir briefly led Delhi Daredevils in 2009, it was only at KKR that everyone got to see the best of him as a captain.

After Dhoni, Gambhir has played the highest number of IPL matches as captain. Known for his aggressive brand of leadership, Gambhir returned to once again lead Delhi in IPL 2018 but he himself stepped down after six matches.

In 129 matches as IPL captain, Gambhir has led his team to victory in 71 matches and loss in 57 matches.