IPL: 5 best Indian captains in tournament history

Indian Premier League (IPL) is one of the most competitive T20 tournaments in the world. Each franchise is studded with top-quality players and any side on a given day has the might to give the other a run for their money. Captaining a team in such a high-pressure environment is not everyone’s cup of tea and not many skippers have been able to ace the role. 

However, there are certain cricketers who have thrived as a leader and created a lot of buzz in the IPL arena with their exceptional captaincy skills. Among them, there are Indian players who have displayed their leadership prowess in the T20 carnival time and time again and marshalled their troops to many epic triumphs.

Here are the five best Indian captains in IPL history:

5. Sachin Tendulkar

Sachin Tendulkar was one of the greatest cricketers to have ever played the game. He was a run-machine in the international arena and racked up an eye-popping tally of 18426 runs in 463 ODIs at an average of 44.83. In Tests, the Mumbai-born amassed 15921 runs in 200 games at an average of 53.78.

‘Master Blaster’ established his supremacy in the cash-rich league as well. He featured in 78 IPL games and piled on 2334 runs at a strike rate of 119.82. His batting credentials aside, Sachin also had considerable success as a leader as he captained Mumbai Indians in 51 matches and steered them to 30 wins.

With Sachin at the helm, Mumbai reached the final showdown in the third edition of the marquee event. He was the highest run-getter of the season, having notched up 618 runs in 15 outings. Moreover, the legendary cricketer guided his team to the knockout stages in IPL 2012.