Top 10 Captains who have led the team in most International matches

Indian limited overs skipper MS Dhoni added another feather to his cap when he led the side in the first T20I against West Indies at Lauderhill Stadium, Florida. MS Dhoni became the skipper to have led the team in most matches in international cricket across all the three formats. Surely, in a country like India, where the pressure and the expectations take a toll rise, Dhoni’s effort has been commendable. Leading a side is a tough ask. Not many can do it, given the amount of pressure one has to deal with – both on and off the field. There have been a few gentlemen in cricket, who have mastered this art of leading. They have got their names etched as the most prolific captains of the cricket history. Here are the top captains who have led the team in most International matches 10. Imran Khan (Pakistan) – 187: Imran Khan of Pakistan during the Pakistan tour of the British Isles in 1987. (Photo by Patrick Eagar/Popperfoto/Getty Images) Pakistan’s flamboyant skipper Imran Khan was instrumental in leading his team to a triumphant 1992 ICC World Cup. It was under his leadership that the Pakistani team flourished. He took over the captaincy in the year 1982 and continued his reign as the skipper for a decade till 1992. In the 48 Tests that he held charge of the team, they won 14 matches and lost 8. In the ODIs, Pakistan played under his leadership on 139 occasions. Pakistan won 75 of those matches and lost 59. He tasted victories in 89 matches of his combined leadership in ODIs and Tests in 187 matches and lost 67. He remains to be Pakistan’s most successful ODI skipper with 75 wins to his name. He was the most successful Test skipper too until Misbah-ul-Haq surpassed him with 22 Test wins. 9. Hansie Cronje (South Africa) – 191: Hansie Cronje. (© Getty Images) Hansie Cronje lost his limelight after being controversially involved in the match fixing saga. However, taking no credit away from him, Cronje was one of the most prolific captains to lead the South African team. He took over as the captain in the year 1994. The highlight of his career was when South Africa made it to the semi-finals of the 1999 World Cup. He led South Africa in 138 ODIs, winning 99 matches and losing only 35 matches with a win percentage close to 74. He was prolific in the Tests too, leading South Africa to 27 Test wins in 53 matches. In the overall 191 matches that he played as captain, he lost only 46 matches and won 126 matches. His captaincy spanned from the year 1994 to 2000. 8. Sourav Ganguly (India) – 196: Sourav Ganguly. (© Getty Images) One of the most dynamic captains of the previous decade, Sourav Ganguly, is known for reforming the Indian team. Under his captaincy, India won the Natwest tri-series in England in 2002. India also made it to the finals of the ICC World Cup in 2003. It was under his captaincy when India saw the emergence of the youngsters in the playing eleven. Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh, Ashish Nehra, Zaheer Khan and Yuvraj Singh – all flourished under Ganguly’s leadership. He took charge of the Indian team in 1999-2000. In the 196 matches that he led the team, they won 97 matches and lost 79 matches. In the 49 Tests that India played under Ganguly, they won 21 matches – which was a record in itself at that time until broken by Dhoni (27 Test wins). He won 76 matches and lost 66 in the 147 ODIs that he led India. He was succeeded by Rahul Dravid as the captain in 2005. 7. Mohammad Azharuddin (India) – 221: Mohammad Azharuddin batting for India against the Minor Counties in Trowbridge on the 12th July 1990. The match ended in a draw. (Photo by David Munden/Popperfoto/Getty Images) The controversial former Indian skipper Mohammad Azharuddin’s captaincy was as impactful as his flick shots. Azharuddin took over as the captain of the Indian team succeeding Krishnamachari Srikkanth in the year 1989. Also read: 5 Most active Indian cricketers on Twitter He led the Indian team in 47 Test matches and 174 ODIs. He led the team to victory in 90 ODIs, the highest until surpassed by MS Dhoni on 2 September 2014. His 14 Test match wins as captain was a record until it was beaten by Dhoni, who has 21 Test match wins to his name. His overall record states him leading in 221 matches with 104 wins and 90 defeats. Azhar was controversially dropped from the team following the match-fixing allegations and was succeeded by Sourav Ganguly in the year 1999. 6. Arjuna Ranatunga (Sri Lanka) – 249: ARJUNA RANATUNGA / SRI LANKA (Photo by David Munden/Popperfoto/Getty Images) Sri Lanka’s World Cup winning captain Arjuna Ranatunga led the team on 249 occasions in Tests and ODIs. He made his debut in 1982 when the Sri Lanka team was a new-comer in the international circuit. It was under his captaincy that the Sri Lanka team flourished. He took over the captaincy in 1988 and continued to lead the team till 1998. Under his leadership, Sri Lanka won 101 matches and lost 114 matches. The World Cup win in 1992 was the biggest highlight of his cricketing career. In the 56 Tests that he led Sri Lanka in he guided them to 12 wins as against 19 defeats to his name. The Lankans drew 25 matches under his captaincy. Although some of his actions caused some controversy, Ranatunga was praised for his leadership in raising a team long regarded as underdogs to the status of world champions. 5. Allan Border (Australia) – 271: Former Australian skipper Allan Border addressing the media during a press meet. (Photo by Qamar Sibtain/India Today Group/Getty Images) Along with being a prolific batsman, Allan Border was an equally capable captain. He laid the foundation of the Australia team that went on to be one of the most dominating teams in the world of cricket. He successfully led Australia to its first ever World Cup win way back in 1987. Border led Australia in 178 ODIs and registered victories in 107 ODIs. Under his captaincy, Australia lost only 67 matches. In the Test matches, he won 32 Tests out of the 93 that he captained in. His captaincy reign spanned from 1984 to 1994. Overall, he was in-charge of the Australian team 271 matches with 139 victories to his name to go with 89 defeats. 4. Graeme Smith (South Africa) – 286: Graeme Smith. (© Getty Images) Former South African skipper Graeme Smith has the distinction of being the player with most matches as captain in the Test format. He led South Africa in 109 Tests, winning 53 and losing 27. He was instrumental in resurging the Protea fire during his captaincy reign. It was under his captaincy that South Africa rose to the top of the rankings in Tests. In the ODIs, he has 150 matches under his name as skipper. He won 92 and lost 51 during his captaincy stint in ODIs. His record as captain in the T20 format isn’t bad either – winning 11 out of the 16 matches. On the whole, he led South Africa in 286 matches, winning 163 and losing only 89 matches with a win/loss ratio of 1.831. He took over as the captain of South Africa in 2003 and left the coveted position in 2014. 3. Stephen Fleming (New Zealand) – 303:. MUMBAI, INDIA – OCTOBER 19, 2006: Cricket – ICC Champions Trophy – New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming during the net practice on the eve of their match against Sri Lanka at CCI. (Photo by Santosh Harhare/Hindustan Times via Getty Images) Stephen Fleming took over as the New Zealand skipper from Lee Germon and thereby becoming New Zealand’s youngest captain at 23 years and 321 days. Fleming became the most successful captain for the team in September 2000 with a victory over Zimbabwe. That was the 12th win under his captaincy overtaking Geoff Howarth. In the Test matches, Fleming led New Zealand in 80 matches and could win 28 of them. They lost 27 Tests under him and drew 25 Tests. He was in-charge of the New Zealand ODI outfit in 218 ODIs but tasted more defeats than success. He lost 106 matches in ODIs and could win only 98. Across all the formats, he led New Zealand in 303 matches, winning 128 matches and losing 135 matches. His captaincy lasted for a decade, spanning from 1997 to 2007. He retired from all formats after the ICC World Cup 2007. 2. Ricky Ponting (Australia) – 324: Ricky Ponting. (Photo credit anesh debiky/AFP/Getty Images) Australia found one of the greatest captains in the form of Ricky Ponting. It was during Ponting’s captaincy that Australia won two successive World Cups (in 2003 and 2007). The had a strong hold in the Test rankings at the top spot for a period of 74 months, which in itself is a record. The only weak point, as one might assess, was his captaincy in the T20s where he could not get a major trophy to his name. Ponting led Australia in 77 Tests and won 48 of them and lost just 16. He was at the helm in 230 ODIs before calling it quits in 2011. He won 165 ODIs and lost just 51 with an impressive win percentage of 76.14. Also read: Top 10 longest streaks as the No 1 Test team In the cumulative 324 matches that he led Australia in, he tasted victory on 220 occasions, and lost in 77 matches. His captaincy spanned from 2002 to 2012. 1. MS Dhoni (India) – 326: MS Dhoni, Captain of India. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images) Indian limited overs skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni has captained the team in 326 matches across all the three formats. Dhoni took over the ODI captaincy in 2007 from Rahul Dravid after India’s disappointing performance in the ICC World Cup 2007. He then led India in the inaugural edition of the ICC World T20 in the same year. Since then Dhoni has never looked back. India reached the top spot in the Test rankings for the first time in the history in 2009 under the leadership of MS Dhoni. He then went on to lead India to triumph in the World Cup 2011 on the home soil. The only other ICC Trophy missing from his shelf was the Champions Trophy. He took a couple of years to achieve that in the year 2013 when India lifted the ICC Champions Trophy beating hosts England in the finals. Dhoni called it quits in the Test format during India’s tour to Australia in 2015-16. He led India in 60 Test matches and won 27 of them. He lost 18 and drew 15 matches in his Test career as captain. All stats updated till 28th Aug 2016.

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Top 10 Captains who have led the team in most International matches

5. Allan Border (Australia) – 271:

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