Top 10 Most successful captains in T20 cricket

The shortest format of the game, the T20 cricket, is certainly the most popular among the cricket lovers. With the emergence of leagues like the IPL, BBL, Ram Slam, BPL and now even PSL, T20 cricket is set to be played all year around. The format demands a lot of innovation and out of the box thinking. While the players are definitely the ones to come up with the innovations, it is often the captains move that shapes up key results. T20 is believed to be the toughest format for the captains but there are masters of this craft too who win matches for their teams with their leadership skills. Here are the most successful captains in T20 cricket: 10. Adam Gilchrist – 40 Wins: (Photo Source: BCCI) The former Australian wicketkeeper, Adam Gilchrist, had the privilege of leading the Australian national team. While he had 17 matches to lead the Australian team in ODIs, he got just two occasions to lead the national team in T20 cricket; having won one and losing the other. The former Aussie opener has played in 83 matches as T20 skipper; the 6th most capped skipper in T20 history and has won 40 matches with a win percentage of 48.19. He led the Deccan Chargers to a title win in the second edition of the IPL. He also led Kings XI Punjab in the later seasons. In 2010, he was made the captain of Middlesex in English domestic season. Adam Gilchrist celebrated his first game in charge by scoring a Middlesex T20 record score (106 off 52 balls) as his side beat Kent by six wickets at Canterbury. 9. William Porterfield – 44 Wins: William Porterfield. (Photo Source: Getty Images) Ireland skipper, William Porterfield, has a stunning record as a captain in T20s as he has won 61.19 percent of the matches that he has played as the skipper. He has led Ireland to several T20 victories that also ensured that Ireland qualified for the ICC World T20. Having played 77 matches, he has 44 wins to his name and 26 defeats with 4 games being washed out. Despite being Ireland’s captain, Porterfield chose to represent his county (Gloucestershire) instead of leading Ireland in their ODIs against Scotland and New Zealand in July 2008 in an attempt to secure a permanent position at Gloucestershire. He later went on to captain the county side as well. 8. Misbah-ul-Haq – 51 Wins: (Photo Source: CLT20/BCCI) The veteran Pakistan batsman, who shot to limelight during the inaugural T20 World Cup, has an impressive captaincy record to his name. Misbah-ul-Haq has played 78 T20 matches as captain and has won 51 games. He has a win percentage of 66.02. Misbah has featured for various T20 sides- Faisalabad Region, Faisalabad Wolves, Pakistan, Pakistan A and the Rangpur Riders. In the 8 matches that he played as the skipper of the Pakistan side in 2011-12, he registered wins in 6 matches and lost just two with a win percentage of 75. 7. Rob Key – 46 Wins: Robert Key has 46 wins in the 83 matches he captained in the Twenty20 format. (© Getty Images) Robert Key has played 15 Tests and 5 ODIs for England, is a regular member of the Kent County side and the England Lions team. During the 2007 Twenty20 Cup, Key was appointed as the captain of Kent side. He led Kent to the finals of the series in which Kent defeated Sussex and Gloucestershire to claim the trophy. Key, who has the highest score of 98*, playing for the Kent Spitfires against the Sussex Sharks, has won 46 matches out of 83 that he has played as captain. He has lost 34 matches, has been involved in two tied games and has a no result game under his leadership. 6. George Bailey – 47 Wins: (Photo Source: Twitter) The smiling assassin from Australia, who made news by becoming the second ever Australian to captain an international game without having played an international game before, after Dave Gregory. Bailey was appointed as T20 captain of Australia in 2012 prior to the two-match series against India that ended 1–1. He has played 93 matches as captain and has won 47 matches and lost 44. He has led Australia, Australia A, Hobart Hurricanes, Kings XI Punjab and Tasmania. During 2014 IPL, Bailey successfully led the Kings XI Punjab to the final of the championship where they lost to KKR. He has led the Australian national team in 28 matches and has won 14 of them. 5. Cameron White – 48 Wins: Cameron White. (© Getty Images) Cameron White has won 48 of the 82 matches that he has played as a T20 captain. Having an impressive win record of 59.75, White has had a horrible run as Australia T20 skipper, though. He has won just 2 of the 6 matches in which he led the national side. He more than covered up for it with his stints as captains for Australia A, Deccan Chargers, Melbourne Stars, Somerset, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Victoria. White has 30 defeats and 2 tied games to his name. 4. Darren Sammy – 50 Wins: Darren Sammy RCB. (Photo Source: BCCI) Darren Sammy is the present T20I skipper of the West Indies team. He took over the captaincy reigns in 2011 and has captained West Indies in 41 matches so far and has won 22 of them. He successfully led West Indies to their 2012 T20 World Cup victory. Overall, Sammy has led the sides of St Lucia, St Lucia Zouks, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Titans, West Indians, West Indies, West Indies XI and the Windward Islands in T20s. He has 101 T20 games to his name as captain and has 50 wins in them. He has lost 46, tied 2 and 3 games went for no result. 3. Shoaib Malik – 60 Wins: (Photo Source: CLT20/BCCI) Shoaib Malik has successfully led four teams in T20s, Pakistan, Pakistan International Airlines, Sialkot Region and Sialkot Stallions. Malik has led Sialkot Stallions to a record 8 domestic T20 titles with the most recent coming on 18 May 2015. As a national team captain, Malik has an impressive record too. From 2007-10, he captained Pakistan in 17 matches and won 12 of them. Overall, he has played in 89 matches and has won 60 out of them and has just 26 defeats to his name alongside 2 tied games and one game going for no result. He has the best winning percentage among all others in this list with 69.31 win percentage. 2. Gautam Gambhir – 77 Wins: Gautam Gambhir KKR. (Photo Source: BCCI) Having played 123 matches as captain, Gambhir has led Delhi in the domestic T20s, Delhi Daredevils and Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL. He has won 77 matches and has lost 49. One match has been tied under his leadership and one had no result. Gambhir has been the skipper 77 successful T20s which accounts to the 61 percent of the matches that he has played as a captain. Under his leadership, the Kolkata Knight Riders became the IPL champions for the first time in 2012, by defeating Chennai Super Kings in the final and repeated the feat in 2014, defeating Kings XI Punjab. Knight Riders hold the record for the longest winning streak by any Indian team in T20s with 14 consecutive wins under his leadership. 1. MS Dhoni – 131 Wins: (Photo Source: BCCI) The Indian T20 skipper bags the top spot with the most number of wins, 131, in 218 matches. Dhoni has lost 81 games as skipper and has 2 tied and no results each under his name. He has been a phenomenal skipper and is also the most capped T20 skipper in the history of the game. Dhoni led the Indian T20 side to a World Cup win in the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007. He went on to win two consecutive IPLs too by leading the Chennai Super Kings to the title win in 2010 and 2011. By far, CSK is the most successful side in the IPL, having made it to the knockouts in every edition of the tournament. Dhoni also led CSK to Champions League T20 victory on two occasions, in 2010 and 2014

Topics

Featured Section

Current Series

Cricket Fantasy Tips

Cricket Stats

IPL Teams

ICC Rankings

Interviews

Twitter Reactions

Cricket Appeal

Social Tracker

More Links

# Follow Us

Other Sports

Top 10 Most successful captains in T20 cricket

6. George Bailey – 47 Wins:

Latest Articles

IPL 2025: 5 KKR players CSK and DC might target at auction

Ranji Trophy: Tushar Deshpande to return for second phase

5 India players whose comeback seems impossible in IPL 2025