Cricket in Numbers: The Most Successful Captains in International Cricket History

Over the history of cricket, a few captains have emerged, and they have also marked themselves as the best in the game. From managing the on-field decisions to even having a calm dressing room environment, they have been able to manage it with ease. Let’s take a look at the most successful captains in international cricket history (minimum 100 matches).

Player	Span	Matches	Won	Lost	Tied	Draw	W/L	Win Percentage
Rohit Sharma	2017–2025	142	103	33	2	3	3.12	72.53%
Ricky Ponting	2002–2012	324	220	77	2	13	2.85	67.90%
Asghar Afghan	2015–2021	115	78	32	2	0	2.43	67.82%
Steve Waugh	1997–2004	163	108	44	3	7	2.45	66.25%
Hansie Cronje	1994–2000	191	126	46	1	15	2.73	65.96%

Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma takes the top spot in the list of most successful captains in history. His era as a captain of the Indian team officially comes to an end in 2025. He first took over as a stand-in captain for the Indian cricket team when Virat Kohli was unavailable.

Rohit led the Indian team in a total of 142 international games across all three formats. Out of these, he led the team to win 103 games, making him not only the most successful Indian captain but also an international skipper. His record in the T20I and ODI formats has been great for the team.

The Hitman also started well in the Test format, but he was not able to sustain the winning momentum. As a result, his contributions helped India reach the World Test Championship 2023 final. On the other hand, the team finished in third place in the World Test Championship 2023-25 cycle.

It was the ICC events that redefined the legacy of the Indian team, and also helped Rohit to create his legacy as a captain. Starting with the T20 World Cup 2022, he led the Indian team to the semi-final of the tournament, before losing to England. After this ICC event, Rohit Sharma seemed to be unstoppable.

He went on to lead India to the finals of the World Cup 2023. After losing to Australia in the finals, he didn’t lose hope. Instead, he led India to win the T20 World Cup 2024 and the Champions Trophy 2025 without losing a single game. It should also be noted that Rohit led the Indian team to win the Asia Cup 2018 and 2023, too.

Ricky Ponting

Australia’s greatest captain, Ricky Ponting, stands just behind Rohit Sharma in the record of most successful captains in international cricket. Ponting started leading the Australian side from 2002 and continued to lead them till 2012. During this decade, the dominance of the team was not reduced even in a single game with Ponting leading them.

As a result, Ponting led Australia in a massive total of 324 games, and out of them, he was able to secure wins in 220. His legacy as a captain cannot be undermined, not just in Australia, but even across all countries. What Rohit Sharma was in the 2020s, Ricky Ponting did the same in his time as a captain.

From 2003 to 2009, he helped Australia to win not one, not two, but four ICC titles. It all started with the World Cup 2003 edition. Defeating India in the finals, Ponting had a great start to his captaincy career. Moreover, he played a fine knock in the finals, which helped him to be the Player of the match.

Later in 2006, he led Australia to win its second ICC title under his captaincy, in the form of the Champions Trophy. Although he didn’t shine with the bat this time, his strategic decisions helped Australia to win the finals with ease against the West Indies by 8 wickets.

In the 2007 World Cup, Ponting became the only captain to win consecutive World Cups for the team. He continued his dominant presence as a captain even in the Champions Trophy 2009. Since Australia was the defending champions, Ponting ensured a consecutive title win. This time, the team defeated New Zealand in the finals by 6 wickets to clinch the win.

Asghar Afghan

Fans might be shocked to know that even an Afghanistani player would have his name in this list. But yes, there was a time when Afghanistan had it in its rulebooks to shock the world with its unexpected wins. It all became possible under the captaincy of Asghar Afghan.

Afghan led the national side in 115 matches, out of which they were able to secure wins in 78 games. This level of dominance was never achieved by any other captain in the history of Afghanistan cricket. From 2015 to 2021, it was still known to be the Golden period for the team, possibly under Asghar Afghan.

He played an important role in Afghanistan’s becoming a Test-playing nation. Afghan led the team to play its first-ever Test match against India. Although they lost the same, he maintained the fight to secure the team’s first Test win. And this came soon in 2019, when Afghanistan defeated Ireland to secure its first win in the Test format.

Asghar Afghan created his legacy as a captain in the T20I format. He also overtook MS Dhoni for the record of most T20I wins as a captain, having 42 wins in 52 matches. Holding this record for a significant period of time, Afghan was still not able to taste success in the ICC events.

Leading Afghanistan in the T20 World Cup 2016, he was able to help the team top the rankings in the first Group stages. But in the next stage, Afghanistan finished last in the standings with just a win in 6 games. Even with such an impressive win record, Afghan ended his captaincy stint without leading the team to its first ICC trophy.

Steve Waugh

The domination of Australian cricket was even present before the 21st century started. And this was possible due to various captains, including Steve Waugh. Holding his name in the 4th spot in this list, Waugh is the second Australian captain to be present here after Ricky Ponting. This shows that the captains in Australia are not just to win, they are to dominate.

From 1997 to 2004, Waugh led the Australian team in 163 matches, out of which the team was able to secure wins in 108 games. Even after Ricky Ponting became the skipper of the team, Waugh led them in a few games when Ponting was unavailable.

He was known as the hero of the 1999 World Cup. Leading Australia at that time against strong teams such as South Africa, New Zealand, Pakistan, and India, Waugh was still able to lead his team to win the trophy. In the final clash, the team was able to defeat Pakistan by 8 wickets, securing the most dominant victory in the World Cup final history.

Along with that, his dominance as a captain in the Test format can also not be denied. From 2001, a new concept was introduced by the ICC to hand over a trophy to the team that remains ranked as number one by the end of the year in the Test format. And this was an opportunity for Waugh to end his career with more trophies as a captain.

Thus, he helped Australia to win the first-ever ICC Test trophy. He further continued to help Australia in the Test format, despite Ricky Ponting taking over the captaincy in the ODI format. Till 2004, Waugh helped Australia to win the ICC Test trophy four times, naming consecutive wins for the team.

Hansie Cronje

The famous South African captain, Hansie Cronje, also holds his name in this list. While most of them know Cronje as a fixer, a few of them even know how he helped South Africa to reach new heights in the ICC events. Having his name at number five, he has proven to be better than even the greats, such as MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, etc.

Cronje led the South African team from 1994 to 2000. In this period, he captained the team in 191 games across all formats and secured wins in 126 of them. Despite standing fifth in the list, he has a better win-to-loss ratio as compared to Asghar Afghan and Steve Waugh.

In the 1996 World Cup, which was hosted by Pakistan, Hansie Cronje started his dominance as a captain. He led the Proteas to the quarter-finals of the tournament, but the team lost to the West Indies, not making it to the next stage. Later in the World Cup 1999, he led South Africa to the semi-finals, where the team had drawn against Australia.

But taking two more balls as compared to the Australian side, Cronje was not able to lead his team to the finals. It should also be noted that Hansie Cronje is regarded as the best captain in the history of Proteas cricket. Despite being involved in match-fixing scandals, he helped South Africa to win its first-ever ICC trophy.

This happened in the ICC Knockout Trophy 1998. In the first edition of the tournament, South Africa faced the West Indies in the finals. Cronje helped his team chase down the target of 246 runs with ease, as the Proteas won their first-ever ICC trophy.