Top 10 Popular Cricket Captains – For a cricketer, becoming the captain of their country is undoubtedly the most greatest achievement of their career. Equally, captaincy in cricket is a very hard job & a big responsibility. The captain has to consider their own game & the games of the 10 other players on his team. And then there’re as well the off-field issues associated with leadership. The game can alter within a duo of overs, and it’s about seizing the moment for a smart leader. The best cricket captains have dealt with all of these points admirably & have led their sides to success. There have some of the best cricket captain in the world who raised their team’s game to the highest level & made their teams world champion.
Top 10 Popular Cricket Captains
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“Any captain can only do his best for the team & for cricket. When you’re winning, you’re a hero. Lose & the backslappers fade away.” These words by Richie Benaud one of the popular voices of cricket highlights the tough life of captains in the world of cricket, there’re under constant scrutiny & while they’re praised for team’s success there’re often brutally criticized if the team losses or even if there’re other bother within the team, like team combination, on & off-field decisions. Check Top 10 Popular Cricket Captain.
So, a successful captain is one who confidently handles pressure & who can stay true to his vision even though the public perception & needs keep changing continuously. With success comes, popularity & cricket have appeared some greatest captains, who have reached the pinnacle of popularity because of their leadership qualities and their overall charisma & vision.
Top 10 Popular Cricket Captains Overview
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Top 10 Popular Cricket Captain In The World All Time
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10. Arjuna Ranatunga
When one discuss Srilankan cricket 1 name that anyone can’t miss is Arjuna Ranatunga. Before the 1996 world Cup, Srilanka was considered 1 of the comparatively weaker teams, but Ranatunga & his understanding of the game together with his ability to take bold decisions & back his players turned out to be a game-changer.
His decision to open with Kaluwitharana & Jayasurya fully surprised the opposition teams as they came out all guns blazing right from the word go!!!
Not only on the field, but Ranatunga as well backed & assisted his players off the field as well. Often supporting his teammates financially or in any other matter as Srilankan cricket & players at that time were financially not much well off.
9. Brendon Mccullum
Brendon Mccullum, the dasher, who is popular for his fearless batting was made captain of NZ in December 2012 & soon it was clear that his team will play the brand of cricket which he has playing as an individual a fearless & aggressive brand of cricket. He has a winning % of 61.86 in ODIs and the highlight of his captaincy career was Kiwis getting into the final of ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 for the 1st time in history. Mccullum rose into the limelight when he absolutely smashed against bowlers on his way to 158 in the opening match of IPL.
8. Eoin Morgan
The Captain has redefined white-ball cricket in England, moving the focus from Red ball to white-ball cricket & in the method ushering in a new era in English cricket. This fully changed the English team & the team who was struggling to receive even to 300 started scoring 400s over any other team from the period 2015 to the world cup 2019.
Finally, the fearless approach paid off & England went on to win their 1st 50 overs world cup after several failed attempts. He ranks 2nd in most T20Is as a captain winning 37 out of 64 T20Is. He has won 74 ODIs from 124 ODIs as a captain. The Irish-born English Captain is set for new heights as a captain in near future.
7. Graeme Smith
He has captained his national team in Test matches higher anyone else in the world. 1 Test team in the world & began winning across the globe. It was during his tenure that South Africa chased the highest total ever & Smith leading from the front scored majestic quickfire 90 in that match. He captained in 150 ODIs & won 92 of them.
Related – KKR Team
6. Sourav Ganguly
‘Dada’ as he is fondly whooping by his fans & close ones is thinking about as a leader who changed the way Indian cricket is playing. With the shadow of match-fixing looming large on Indian cricket, Dada took over the captaincy & made a core group of players who were to be servants of Indian cricket for a long time. Under his captaincy, India stopped the unstoppable Aussie Juggernaut with a popular win at Eden Gardens.
India began winning overseas again after the 1970s & 1980s under Ganguly captaincy and made a base for a team that won the world cup in 2011. He captained India in 146 ODIs & won 76 out of them. While as a Test captain he won 21 test matches of the 49 matches & lost 13 Tests while the rest were drawn. Ganguly has one of the best overseas records among Indian captains.
5. Imran Khan
Imran Khan is the current PM of Pakistan but much before entering politics his leadership in cricket was praising from all corners of the world. He won Pakistan the 1992 Cricket World Cup which is still the only one-day World Cup Pakistan has won. Imran Khan was a charismatic personality both on & off the field with a big female following & a leader who was respecting by one and all.
He was a great allrounder who could contribute with both bat and ball but higher anything he had the vision & ability to back the players he believed in. Inzamam ul Haq a youngster at that time was backed even after mediocre performances on the league stage & the inspiring words & backing of the captain paid off when Inzamam played a match-winning innings opposed to NZ out of the blue, this vision & leadership qualities made Imran khan one of the famous captains of all time who did not fear to think out of the box for the results he wants.
4. Clive Lloyd
Captain of one of the most successful & dominant teams in the history of cricket. He was captain of the West Indies in the 1970s & 80s when the team from the Caribbean dominated world cricket. Under his captaincy, Windies won 2 consecutive world cups in 1975 & 1979 and lost in the final in 1983 to India. During his captaincy, Windies won 27 Test matches without a loss which included consecutive 11 wins & it was his persona that could handle & get the best out of every champion player he had.
Despite being a top-class batter himself, Clive is remembering the world over as a captain of the most dominating team in the history of Cricket. He captained Windies in 84 ODIs and won 64 out of it clearly shows the level of dominance his team had in that era. He has the highest winning % in ODIs as a captain 77.71%( at least 50 ODIS).
Related – India Vs Pakistan ODI World Cup
3. Steve Waugh
The man who began the era of dominance of Australian cricket in the 1990s was a fighter both with the bat, ball & as a leader. The best quality of Steve Waugh that is praising across the world is his ability to lead from the front when the team was in most pressure situations. He made a crop of cricketers who ruled world cricket for the next decade or so. Under his captaincy, Australia won the 1999 world cup when they’re almost out of the tournament & had to win back-to-back 5 matches to win the tournament. His innings in the world cup semifinal was the real show of his strong mental ability & ability to thrive under pressure.
His record as a Test captain is even better & Australia became the no.1 Test team under him. They won 41 Test matches out of 57 under his captaincy and finally lost to India which he had whooped ‘Last Frontier.’
Steve Waugh is considered one of the popular & successful captains in world cricket who ushered in an era of dominance of Australian Cricket.
2. Ricky Ponting
Ricky Ponting picked up from where Steve Waugh left and took the Australian team to an altogether next level. Ponting believed in leading from the front & captaincy duties boost his batting & Ponting went on to become a run machine at no. 3. Under his captaincy, Australia won 2 world cups( 2003 and 2007) without losing a single match.
The record was broken only in the 2011 world cup which began in the 2003 World Cup. He comes 2nd in winning % rate in Test with 62.33%. While in ODIS he has a win % of 76.14 winning 165 of 230 ODIs as a captain. The popularity of Ponting as a leader with an aggressive attitude is 2nd to none & he’ll forever remembered as a legendary cricketer who gave everything he had for his team.
1. Mahendra Singh Dhoni
The shy boy from Ranchi who was criticizing in the early part of his career as not much talkative behind the stumps retired as the most successful Indian captain & surely the famous one. Dhoni as a white ball captain is 2nd to none & he as a captain has won every trophy in the world of cricket. His ability to remain calm in pressure condition both with the bat & as a captain has earned him the tag of ‘Captain Cool’. Under his captaincy, Csk won IPL 3 times and India as well won Champions Trophy in 2013.
But the big one, the 50 over World Cup which India won at their home in 2011 is the greatest achievement of Dhoni’s captaincy. Dhoni has captained India in 331 matches overall & won 178 of them over all formats & this, together with his big-hitting & finishing skills made him the poster boy of Indian Cricket for a long time & the famous captain of Indian cricket & the world.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Who is No 1 successful captain?
Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the most successful and best cricket captain to have ever led team India. Under his captaincy, India won the 2011 World Cup, the 2013 Champions Trophy and the 2007 T20 World Cup.
Who is the best captain of the cricket in the world?
The most successful captain in World Cup history, along with Lloyd. Ricky Ponting led Australia at three World Cups and won two of them, in 2003 and in 2007.