South African national cricket team is one of the best cricket teams among other members of the International Cricket Council. It is all possible due to the best captains who captained the team very progressively that it made its position in cricket. Any player's progress depends upon the Captain they have. If Captain is good, then the players will also give their best in achieving success for their team.
10. Hashim Amla
Hashim Mahomed Amla is among the first South African cricket team captain to win a Test match series away from home in Sri Lanka. Amla captained only a handful of matches and suffered a considerable loss. The South African national cricket team won 4, lost 4, and drew 6, giving the warrior a winning percentage of 28.57.
9. Percy Sherwell
Percy William Sherwell was one of the men who used the torch for lightening up the pathway for the South Africa national cricket team in the world of cricket. He was a wicketkeeper and a right-handed batsman. Under his captainship, the South African national cricket team won 5 Test matches out of 13, after the loss of 6 matches. This gave him a win percentage of 38.46. which is very high among all the cricketers for the South African national cricket team
8. Ali Bacher
Aron "Ali" Bacher is famous for being the only South African national cricket team captain with a 100% win record. During the 1970s, some International sporting sanctions were made due to which many players along with Ali Bacher, lost their freedom to play the cricket for South African national cricket team. Due to all this, Bacher only got a chance of captaining 4 test matches and won all of them.
7. Jack Cheetham
Jack Cheetham realized that a player’s strength and fielding were crucial to winning games. He was the most competitive captain, in the modern game today, who doesn't believe in losing games. He has captained the team for 15 test matches. Cheetham was not only a compassionate captain but also an uncompromising one.
6. AB De Villiers
Abraham Benjamin de Villiers took the South African national cricket team to a whole new level by demolishing opposition teams and he is superb in playing single-handedly. His determined leadership qualities got the best out of players, and quick decisions often took opposition teams in complete shock. He holds the records for Fastest 50,100,150 in ODI cricket and he is the only batsman ever to average above 50 with a strike rate of above 100 (batsmen with minimum 5000 runs).
5. Kepler Wessels
Kepler Christoffel Wessels was the captain of the South African national cricket team during its readmission in the world of cricket in 1991. He is a right-handed batsman and a wicket-keeper. He is famous for his excellent handling of the bowlers of the cricket team and making the side a vital component in the world of cricket. Under the captainship of Kepler, the South African cricket team faced its first-ever World Cup.
4. Faf Du Plessis
Francois "Faf" du Plessis is one of the most fortunate skippers in the history of the South African national cricket team. With excellent strategic skills and admirable man-management quality, he made the South African cricket team a great force that doesn't knock out quickly. He was pointed as captain in 2017 for all formats and has captained 36 test matches. He has also won the title “Mens Cricketer of the Year 2019”, at Cricket SA annual ceremony.
3. Shaun Pollock
Shaun Maclean Pollock is the most successful ODI captain of the South African national cricket team with a win percentage of 64.06. In Test matches, Pollock captained the South African cricket team in 26 matches, and his win percentage is 53.84, which is the highest among other South African skippers who captained at least 25 matches.
2. Hansie Cronje
Wessel Johannes "Hansie" Cronje was the most successful ODI captain of the South African national cricket team. He has a very impressive winning percentage of 73.70, which is the second-best among other cricketers who captained at least 100 ODI's. Beating India in Test matches was always a tough job. However, Cronje did it in 2000, something very unbelievable which was even not done by Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting.
1. Graeme Smith
Graeme Smith made the record of hitting the fastest 1,000 runs in Test matches of the cricket team. With so much dedication, He reached the landmark in just 17 innings. He has made 9,265 runs in 117 Test matches at an average of 48.25. Smith holds the record for making the most number of runs as an opener for the team in Test matches; he also scored a considerable number of double-centuries for South Africa in Test matches.