The Most Successful Captains in IPL History 

In any team sport, a captain plays an integral role in their side’s success and cricket is no different. Though a team plays with 11 players, the captain’s contribution is regularly scrutinised for his/her performance.

They have to inspire their team and lead from the front in their respective departments of the game. Only then, they will get a vote of approval from all stakeholders involved with the team and this includes millions of fans.

The Indian Premier League (IPL) is no different and in-fact the pressure is more on the team captain to perform than in any other T20 league played across the globe. Their performances positively impacts the team’s result and we will see which IPL captains have the best winning percentages in history.

There have been 29 players who have captained their respective sides in IPL 25 or more times and here are the top-10 skippers with highest percentages.

#1 Hardik Pandya (GT, MI)

Matches – 43, Wins – 26, Loss 17, Winning Percentage – 60.46% 

Hardik Pandya is number one in terms of highest win percentage as captain in the IPL. He has led Gujarat Titans (2022 & 2023) and Mumbai Indians in the 2024 edition. Pandya is IPL winner on both these sides and lead GT to a title win under his captaincy in 2022.

#2 MS Dhoni (CSK, RPSG)

Matches – 226, Wins – 133, Loss 91, Winning Percentage – 58.84% 

Arguably one of the greatest captains of all time in the history of the game, MS Dhoni has the 2^nd highest win percentage. Under his leadership, CSK has won the title a record 5-times, a feat he can proudly share with fellow skipper Rohit Sharma who comes in the list below. He has also captained the now defunct Rising Pune Supergiants in 14 games while winning just 4 of them.

#3 Sachin Tendulkar (MI)

Matches – 51, Wins – 30, Loss 21, Winning Percentage – 58.82% 

Mumbai Indians were ably led by the master blaster Sachin Tendulkar sporadically in 2008 season and large part of next 3 seasons (2009 to 2011) in 51 games, before he relinquished captaincy. Under his tenure, though MI didn’t win a title, they were the runners-up in the 2010 edition and the legendary batter was the man of the tournament in that.

#4 Steve Smith (RR, RPSG, PWI)

Matches – 43, Wins – 25, Loss 17, Winning Percentage – 58.13% 

Steve Smith, though is currently not part of any team in IPL, has one of the finest skippers in the tournament history winning 25 of the 43 games he has led his sides in. This includes a final appearance with RPSG as their skipper in 2017 before leading Rajasthan Royals for a season in 2020.

#5 Anil Kumble (RCB)

Matches – 26, Wins – 15, Loss 11, Winning Percentage – 57.69% 

The legendary Indian leg spinner was named the skipper of the RCB franchise in 2009 edition after a lackluster inaugural season where they ended up 7^th in the table. Kumble made a great impact when he was at the helm in the next 2 seasons as he led his side to a maiden final appearance in 2009. 

#6 Rohit Sharma (MI)

Matches – 158, Wins – 87, Loss 67 Winning Percentage – 55.06% 

The current India skipper is an IPL legend having won the title a whopping 5 times as a skipper of Mumbai Indians. Following a baton change in 2013 mid-way where Ricky Ponting left his captaincy for Rohit, the latter has not looked back. He made an impact by helping his side in the same edition and four more seasons after that. In all, he has a winning percentage of 55.06 which put him in the 6^th spot.

#7 Gautam Gambhir (KKR. DC)

Matches – 129, Wins – 71, Loss 57 Winning Percentage – 55.03% 

Thanks to his shrewd leadership skills, Gautam Gambhir was able to get the best out of himself as well as his team when he was at the helm. He won the IPL twice while leading the Kolkata Knight Riders and this resulted in a great win percentage for him personally as the captain.

#8 Shane Warne (RR)

Matches – 55, Wins – 30, Loss 24 Winning Percentage – 54.54%

He is often regarded as the best skipper that Australia never had, and this was thanks to his strong leadership skills. Part of those skills were visible when he led an inexperienced Rajasthan Royals to a title triumph in the inaugural edition of IPL. Though the Royals and Warne didn’t find much success in the 3 seasons he led post that, the legendary spinner is one of the best captains of all time in IPL.

#9 Sanju Samson (RR)

Matches – 56, Wins – 30, Loss 26 Winning Percentage – 53.57% 

Here is someone who is capable of going up this ladder in the coming weeks or years and we are talking about the present Rajasthan skipper Sanju Samson. Having taken up the role of captaincy of RR back in 2021 edition, Sanju has led the team from front yielding them great results. Royals reached the final in 2022 and currently are well placed to reach playoffs in the ongoing season (2024).

#10 Shreyas Iyer (DC, KKR)

Matches – 66, Wins – 35, Loss 29 Winning Percentage – 55.03% 

Since 2018 when Shreyas Iyer was named captain of Delhi Capitals (then Daredevils) midway, the right-hander has led either DC or KKR in each of the next seasons barring 2021 and 2023 (not featured) seasons. Under his leadership, DC reached the final in 2020 season while KKR are going strong in the present season (2024).