Many of cricket's top players have proven to the world that they are the finest in their respective sports. Some have a strong reputation in both bowling and batting. However, several became incredibly well-known as a result of their fielding abilities. But there are a select few who, right from the start, astound cricket fans with their extraordinary captaincy careers. Here are some of the most successful cricket captains.
1. MS Dhoni
Dhoni is one of the best Indian captains. He has accomplished the feat of winning while serving as the captain. In addition to becoming one of the hardest-hitting batsmen, Dhoni becomes one of the most successful cricket captains. India achieved the top place under his leadership. Test cricket team rankings for the first time in 2009. He is also the most successful Indian Test captain, leading his country to 27 victories. In addition, he is the first Indian skipper to have captured the Champions Trophy, Cricket World Cup, and T20 World Cup.
2. Ricky Ponting
Ricky Ponting captained the Australian cricket team for several years and is one of the top fielders and batters in the sport. The leading run-scorer in ODI and test cricket for Australia guided his squad to two World Cup titles. He is the only player to have done so and has won more than 100 Tests. Ponting has participated in most one-day internationals as captain. He has triumphed as captain in 165 and 213 games throughout all forms, respectively. He is one of cricket's most successful captains.
3. Stephen Fleming
For New Zealand, Stephen Paul Fleming participated in all three formats of cricket while also serving as team captain. Stephen has been the most successful and respectable cricket captain in New Zealand's Test history. Fleming is New Zealand's top run-scorer in both Tests and One-Day Internationals. Under his leadership, New Zealand won the ICC Knockout Trophy in 2000. His leadership skills are, therefore, his most admired quality.
4. Graeme Smith
Fifty-three times, more than any other, he led his team to victory. He guided his team to win the Test series in Australia twice (2008-09 and 2012-13). After South Africa beat England, Andrew Strauss gave up playing Test cricket. Smith led South Africa in 149 One Day Internationals and won 92 games.
5. Allan Border
Allan Border, one of Australia's greatest Test hitters, continues to be remembered for his contributions to cricket. They were winning the most test series in a row while the captain was making his debut against England in 1978.
6. Arjuna Ranatunga
He has served as a captain in 14 of the victories that came in a total of 87 matches. After that, he led his side to win against England in August 1998. They also rose to become the top one-day cricket team in the world in just three years. He was one of Sri Lanka's most successful cricket captains in history, thanks to six other multilateral victories and the World Cup victory.
7. Hansie Cronje
Cronje's good upbringing and mental health allowed him to assume responsibility at a young age. At a very young age, the little Orange Free State captain guided his squad to astounding success in neighborhood competitions. Hansie was a brilliant captain even though he could not watch the entire demonstration. In 1994–1995, Cronje traveled to Australia with Keplar Wessels serving as vice-captain.
8. Mohammed Azharuddin
In 1989, Azharuddin became the captain after Krishnamachari Srikkanth left captaincy. He was the captain of the Indian cricket team for 174 One Day Internationals and 47 Test matches. He was the team's strongest captain and had won India 90 One-Day Internationals. MS Dhoni surpassed his record on September 2, 2014.
9. Steve Waugh
Steve Waugh's ability to captain and lead during immense pressure in games is his strongest attribute about him. He has also found a variety of cricketers from Australia who dominated the cricket world for ten years. Australia won the prestigious 1999 world cup when Steve Waugh was the captain. He did this under immense pressure as Australia was about to get eliminated in that world cup.
10. Saurav Ganguly
Saurav Ganguly is one of the most efficient captains that India has ever had. Throughout his profession, he has encountered everything. He served as the Indian team's captain for 28 games, 11 of which the team won. Virat Kohli now holds the record after shattering it in August 2019. He is the only cricketer among those who have participated in One Day Internationals to have received four straight man-of-the-match accolades.
