Many cricket stars have proven to the world that they are the finest in their respective fields. Some players are well-known for their batting and bowling abilities. Some, on the other hand, rose to prominence as a result of their fielding abilities.
However, there are a select few who, from the start, continue to astound cricket fans with their extraordinary captaincy careers. In this section, we will look at the most successful cricket captains of all time, who demonstrated to the world that they were the best in their respective disciplines.
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10) Hanse Cronje:
Cronje captained the South African national cricket team in the 1990s. Despite being banned from cricket for life as a result of the infamous match-fixing affair in 2004, he was chosen the 11th greatest South African in 2004.
One of the Finest:
Many consider him to be one of the finest cricketers who retired too soon for a variety of reasons. Unfortunately, he died in an aviation tragedy in 2002. Cronje captained South Africa to 53 Test victories and 138 One Day International victories. Cronje demonstrated all of the attributes a captain should look for in his World Cup debut in 1992.
While his performance in his first World Cup participation in 1992 was unimpressive, it was clear that he showed skill.
Cronje assumed responsibility at a young age as a result of his upbringing and mental fitness. At a young age, the Orange Free State skipper led his squad to amazing victory in local competitions.
Hanse couldn’t be present for the entire presentation, but he was a brilliant captain. In 1994-95, Cronje visited Australia with Keplar Wessels as vice-captain.
9) Sourav Ganguly:
Dada (older brother) was his famous moniker, and he was one of the best left-handed batsman in cricket history. Many consider him to be one of the most successful cricket captains in Indian cricket team history. Throughout his career, he has seen it all.
He has discussed both the highest and lowest periods in his life, as well as some of the worst. His biggest achievement, though, was that Ganguly treated everything with the dignity and aplomb that a true champion should. Sourav Ganguly had the most success of any overseas Test captain.
Leading the team from a scratch:
He led the Indian team to victory in 28 matches as captain, 11 of which they won. He is the only cricketer to have won four straight man of the match honours in One Day Internationals.
Sourav Ganguly is the world’s second-highest ODI run-scorer, with 1163 runs. In one-day internationals, all batsmen scored 9,000 runs. Only in 2017 did AB de Villiers surpass him. The only other player to have caught 100 balls, taken 100 wickets, and scored 10,000 runs in ODIs.
Whenever talking about successful captain in cricket history in terms of international cricket, the list never goes empty without Dada having a special mention.
8) Virat kohli:
In 2008, the Indian cricketer made his senior national team debut against Sri Lanka. As a result, he was promoted to the squad and qualified for the 2011 ICC World Cup. The same year, he played his first Test match. After being elected vice-captain of the Indian ODI side, he was named Test captain after Dhoni retired from Tests in 2014.
A true Leader:
With multiple trophies and records to his name, along with consistently good performances, Virat Kohli has clearly established himself as one of the most successful cricket leaders, particularly in limited over cricket.
He became a successful test captain to help Indian cricket team achieve new heights in test matches.
Kohli made 558 runs in six One-Day Internationals (ODIs) in South Africa in 2018, breaking all previous bilateral series records.
On that occasion, Kohli became the fastest player reach 10,000 ODI runs. Aside from the 11000 ODI run record, Kohli also achieved the 20,000 run mark in international cricket during the 2019 World Cup.
After a 5-1 victory against South Africa, Indian captain Virat Kohli became the first captain to win an ODI series in South Africa. In 2018, the ICC also named Kohli skipper of the World Test XI and ODI XI. Aside from his amazing talent, he is currently the highest-paid cricketer in the world.
7) Mohammad Azharuddin:
He became well-known as a result of his match-fixing controversy. On February 8, 1963, the right-handed batsman was born. Individuals who remember him as an aggressive hitter recall his aggressive hitting technique and wrist stroke play in the middle.
Stats:
One hundred fifty-six international catches demonstrate that he was as valuable in the field as he was in the hitting area. Azharuddin’s celebrity began to rise in the second half of the 1980s. After making his debut, Azharuddin’s runs began to pick up speed. A quick-fire 121 came off his bat against England’s formidable bowling attack at Lord’s.
Despite India’s dismal batting lineup, Azhar remained firm. Although many regarded him as one of the most overrated cricketers of his era, he shown his talent in numerous instances. The defeat of India that day produced a champion. Due to his continuous performance and confident temperament, he was given the captain’s cap in Kris Srikkanth’s absence.
Azharuddin took over as captain after Krishnamachari Srikkanth stepped down. Under his leadership, the Indian cricket team has won 47 One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and 14 Tests, making him one of the most successful captain.
6) Arjuna Ranatunga:
Arjuna Ranatunga made Ravi Shastri suffer in his first Test against England after appearing at Ananda College and striking the first fifty in Sri Lankan Test history. Arjuna took over as captain of the Sri Lanka team in 1989 and kept it until a disagreement between the board and himself briefly interrupted him.
As the captain of the Sri Lankan team, he presently owns the record for most test matches played.
By the time he led his team to win against England in August 1998, he had previously played in 82 of the nation’s 87 tests and captained them in 14 of their victories.
Helping Sri Lanka become the best:
They also became the world’s best one-day cricket side in three years. He is one of only six people who have won the World Cup and six other multilateral events.
It’s clear to see Ranatunga’s influence at work in each of the team’s recent victories. He was named one of Wisden’s Five Cricketers of the Year for his batting, which culminated in 4,595 runs during the Oval Test. His ambition was to use more players from outside of Colombo.
Jayasuriya had been an average all-rounder for his club, and he was willing to give him a shot as an opening batter to see if he could manage the strain. Ranatunga’s career reached an obvious pinnacle as he led Sri Lanka to their first world cup triumph in 1996.
5) Allan Border:
Allan Border, one of Australia’s greatest Test batters, is still remembered for his cricketing legacy. As the captain made his debut against England in 1978, he amassed the most consecutive test series victories. Border’s first Test century came with mixed emotions.
Stats:
When Australia played Pakistan in 1979, it required 382 runs to win. Border scored Australia’s first century in reaching 305/3. Pakistan’s collapse helped them win by 71 runs over Australia. Sarfraz Nawaz got seven wickets for one run in a surge to help them win by 71 runs.
Border, on the other hand, became only the third player in history to score more than 150 in every innings against Pakistan at Lahore at the turn of the century.
Border was appointed captain in the most trying of circumstances. During a Test against New Zealand in Christchurch in 1993, he broke Sunil Gavaskar’s record of 10122 runs in Test matches.
He hit a double century against England in the 1993 Ashes at Leeds. Border’s sole regret is that he did not dominate the West Indies under his tenure. Border is still regarded as one of the greatest successful captain of all time.
4) Graeme smith:
Former South African cricket captain Graeme Smith represented his country for many years. However, he becomes captain of the national cricket team only after eight tests.
Aside from being one of the most successful cricket captains, the left-handed pitcher was known for starting fast. In addition, he captained the team in the most ODIs.
South Africa of Graeme After establishing himself at the youth level, he made his test debut against Australia in Cape Town in 2003.
In the second inning, the number three batter scored 68 runs. His career highlight came in his third test match against Bangladesh, where he began the innings alongside Herschelle Gibbs.
England’s captain hit 200 and 151 runs against Pakistan at home. He played in two innings victories at Lord’s and Edgbaston during the 2003 tour of England, scoring 277 and 259 respectively.
Breaking Records:
He broke the foreign record for the highest score in his games at Lord’s, one of the top cricket stadiums in the world. Smith is the only player in the world to have seen 100 tests as captain.
He led his side to victory 53 times, the most of any player. He guided his team to victory in the Test series in Australia twice (2008-09 and 2012-13). Andrew Strauss withdrew from Test cricket following South Africa’s triumph against England.
South Africa’s Graeme smith was the most successful cricket captain for South Africa in the cricket history.
3) Stephen Fleming:
Stephen Paul Fleming captained the New Zealand cricket team in all three formats. He has been one of the most successful cricket captains in New Zealand’s Test history. Fleming, who was born in Christchurch, was one of the team’s strongest top-order batsmen.
Stephen Fleming drew a lot of attention in his early career. His debut match was a success. The athlete is famed for his excellent shots, including flicks off the pads and straight drives, covers, and cuts.
Fielding and Batting:
His slip-catching abilities are exceptional, and the fields are intelligently near to home. During the 2003 Cricket World Cup, a New Zealand teammate was unbeaten at 134 runs, which boosted the team’s triumph over the hosts.
Fleming is New Zealand’s top run-scorer in Tests and One Day Internationals. Under his guidance, New Zealand won the ICC Knockout Trophy in 2000. As a result, his captaincy is his most admired quality.
2) Ricky Ponting:
Ricky Ponting, known as one of the greatest batsmen in the game and one of the best fielders in cricket history, captained the Australian cricket team for many years. The leading run-scorer in ODIs and tests for Australia guided his team to two World Cup titles.
He is the only player in history to have won more than 100 Tests. Punter, as his teammates call him, was born in Tasmania on December 19, 1974. He made his Tasmanian debut at the age of 17.
Pull shots are played most effectively by this player. However, nearly all of Ponting’s textbook shots were flawless. World records have been set by the twin centuries he scored in the 100th Test match. In addition to 12000 Test runs, Ricky Ponting has also scored ten thousand ODI runs.
Successful captain for the Aussies:
Tests and ODIs, his most common century placement, are third, but if the formats are combined, second. As captain, Ponting has played the most one-day internationals.
Both formats of the game have combined to give him 165 and 213 victories as captain, respectively. Ricky Ponting is among the most successful cricket captains.
1) MS Dhoni: Most successful cricket captains
Dhoni, one of India’s most successful captains, achieved the accomplishment of victories as captain. Dhoni is a wicketkeeper-batsman who frequently bats in the middle order. He is regarded not just as the best finisher in cricket, but also as one of the greatest wicketkeepers of all time.
Dhoni is one of the few players with more than 10,000 runs in ODIs. Experts believe Dhoni is one of the top finishers in limited-overs cricket. He is also regarded as one of the top wicketkeepers in the recent era of limited-overs international cricket.
Dhoni becomes one of the most successful cricket captains while also becoming one of the most hard-hitting batsman. India rose to the top under his leadership. In 2009, the first-ever Test cricket team rankings were released.
Most Successful Cricket captain:
He is also the most successful Indian Test captain, with 27 Test triumphs. He also holds the record for the most abroad test defeats by an Indian captain (15), and he was the first Indian wicketkeeper to reach 4,000 test runs.
He completed his ODI career in the same way he started it, with a run to the 2019 World Cup Semifinals against New Zealand. Despite the fact that MS Dhoni was supposed to return after the IPL in 2020, COVID-19 forced him to play his final international match without a farewell owing to unanticipated circumstances.
MS dhoni achieved what other dream of achieving and this makes him the most successful cricket captain in cricket history.