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Every team has a captain, but not every team wins every match. Therefore, a captain plays a role in deciding the future. A captain leads his team, guides the other players, and makes important decisions during the game.
The IPL is one of the most popular and successful leagues in the world. The league was first played in 2008, and from then till now, many players and teams have taken part in the IPL. Being one of the biggest sporting leagues in the world, the Indian Premier League franchise and its owner always aim at getting IPL Titles.
Every season of IPL provides the privilege of lifting the trophy to the captains. However, only a few can do it. So far, only a few captains have successfully lifted the IPL trophy.
Top successful captains in IPL History: Trophy Wise
1. Mahendra Singh Dhoni
As a captain, he took charge of Chennai Super Kings in 2008, also the first edition of the IPL. In 16 years of his Captaincy Career, Dhoni has played 226 matches. Out of those, he won 133 and lost 99. This is the highest for any captain who has played more than 80 matches in his Indian Premier League captaincy career.
Dhoni, popularly known as “Thala” by his Chennai Super Kings fans, has won five IPL trophies as the leader of the Yellow Army and has made his team to the finals 11 times. Dhoni’s exceptional captaincy skills make him the most successful captain. However, this season, Ruturaj Gaikwad will take charge of leading the CSK side. It will be interesting to note how this youngster fills the shoes of the cricketing legend.
2. Rohit Sharma
Rohit Sharma, who is popularly known for his pull shot, is also famous for his captaincy in the Indian Premier League. The “hitman” of the Mumbai Indians is ranked second on the list of the most successful captains. Rohit Sharma joined the Mumbai Indians in 2011 and became a captain in the year 2013. As a captain, Rohit Sharma has also won five IPL trophies and has a record of never losing a final.
Though the number of titles won by Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Rohit Sharma is the same, a few things prove that Dhoni is a better captain than Rohit Sharma. If we compare both of them as a captain, Dhoni has played more matches than Rohit Sharma and has registered more wins.
The records of Rohit Sharma speak a lot about him, but it’s a fact that Rohit Sharma will not be captaining Mumbai Indians in IPL 2024. Mumbai Indians hand over the captaincy to Hardik Pandya.
3. Gautam Gambhir
Gautam Gambhir, always known for his aggressive mindset, led the Kolkata Knight Riders from 2011 to 2017. Kolkata Knight Riders picked Gambhir up in the year 2011. Before that, he was leading the franchise Delhi Daredevils.
Gautam Gambhir became the captain of the Kolkata Knight Riders, and as a captain, Gambhir won two IPL titles in the year 2012 and 2014. For IPL 2024, he has rejoined the Kolkata Knight Riders as a mentor. Till now, those are the only two titles that KKR has in their bag.
4. Shane Warne
Shane Warne, globally regarded as the “King Of Spin”, had led the IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals to win their only title in the very first edition of the Indian Premier League. Rajasthan Royals was the first team who win the first IPL title.
Shane Warne led the franchise for just three years and managed to win one title.
5. David Warner
David Warner has captained two teams in his IPL Career, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Delhi Capitals. As a leader, he got success with the Sunrisers Hyderabad Franchise as he managed to win the maiden IPL Trophy for the team in 2016.
However, after the 2016 IPL, because of a continuous fall in his form and captaincy skills, the team could not perform well. As a result, Sunrisers released him from Hyderabad in 2022. Currently, he is playing for the IPL franchise Delhi Capitals.
6. Hardik Pandya
The 30-year-old all-rounder was signed by Gujarat Titans as their most valuable player and given captaincy immediately.
Hardik, being a consistent performer, led his team to their maiden IPL Title in their very first season of the Indian Premier League. They defeated Rajasthan Royals in the finals of IPL 2022 and won the historic trophy. Hardik also led the Titans into another final of the Indian Premier League in 2023 but was defeated by Chennai Super Kings.
In the current season of the Indian Premier League 2024, the Mumbai Indians have appointed Hardik as their new captain. His former team, MI, drafted him back from Gujarat Titans.
7. Adam Gilchrist
Adam Gilchrist, an Australian skipper, has captained the Deccan Chargers, which is now defunct. He took charge of captaincy for the franchise in 2008 and served his leadership till 2010. He achieved success for the franchise in 2009 when he lifted the trophy for the Deccan Chargers.
After 2010, Kings XI Punjab signed him and he took charge of captaincy for the franchise. Gilchrist led the team for three consecutive years, but the team could not lift a single trophy in his tenure. After the Indian Premier League Season 2013, he retired from all forms of cricket.
8. KL Rahul
Lucknow Super Giants is one of the fresh franchises that made their IPL debut in the 2022 edition. After being founded in 2021, the Lucknow Super Giants were looking for a perfect candidate who could lead their side and have much experience. For that reason, they appointed KL Rahul as captain.
KL Rahul led the team from the front and took his team to the playoffs in their very first season of IPL, but it was not enough for them to lift an IPL Trophy.
In 2023, the team again tried their best to win a cup under his leadership but ended the same way as they did last year. The team again got eliminated in the playoffs.
Though LSG is a new team, they reached the eliminator two times in a row. Unfortunately, the team has ‘0’ titles with them and is still trying to capture it.
9. Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli, popularly known as “King Kohli ”, is the only captain in the IPL history who has served the franchise Royal Challengers Bengaluru as a captain for almost 9 years but has not won a single trophy for them. Being an amazing batsman and fielder, Kohli has broken many records, but it is a harsh truth that he has not lifted a single trophy in his 16 years of IPL career.
Kohli made his IPL debut in the year 2008 for the franchise RCB and took over the RCB captaincy charge in the 2013 season. He served as a captain for the franchise till 2021. Kohli is the player who has shown immense love towards her franchise and is still there. In this year of IPL season 2024, the RCB team and their fans are once again hoping for better results.
10. Shreyas Iyer
It was the absence of Rishabh Pant that gave Shreyas Iyer a chance at captaincy and he has done very well so far. He has played for two teams, Kolkata, Knight Riders, and Delhi Capitals and he has an impressive win record even after being a young captain. Out of 55 matches as a captain, he has managed to pull out 27 wins. Shreyas Iyer still has to prove a lot by lifting an Indian Premier League trophy. However, this year that side of Kolkata looks strong and under his captaincy, they would be looking to perform well.
