Playing in ICC tournaments means dealing with an unimaginable amount of pressure and expectations. And if one is captaining a team, then everything just doubles up.
Then there’s player management, coming up with strategies and executing them on the field while obviously leading the team from the front. So adding all this makes a captain’s job tough.
Despite that, we have seen a few skippers going about business as usual while guiding their teams to victories in high-stakes ICC events.
On that note, let’s look at the top 10 captains with the most wins in ICC tournaments.
Most Wins by Captains in ICC Tournaments
| Captain | Matches | Total Wins | ODI WC | T20 WC | CT | WTC Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MS Dhoni (IND) | 58 | 40 | 14 | 20 | 6 | – |
| Ricky Ponting (AUS) | 51 | 40 | 26 | 2 | 12 | – |
| Rohit Sharma (IND) | 31 | 27 | 10 | 12 | 5 | 0 |
| Graeme Smith (SA) | 42 | 26 | 11 | 11 | 4 | – |
| Stephen Fleming (NZ) | 40 | 24 | 16 | – | 8 | – |
| Kane Williamson (NZ) | 39 | 23 | 8 | 14 | 0 | 1 |
| Eoin Morgan (ENG) | 33 | 20 | 9 | 8 | 3 | – |
| Mahela Jayawardene (SL) | 28 | 18 | 8 | 6 | 4 | – |
| Brian Lara (WI) | 29 | 18 | 7 | – | 11 | – |
| Kumar Sangakkara (SL) | 26 | 17 | 6 | 10 | 1 | – |
More “ICC Tournaments” Records
Most Runs as Captain in ICC Tournaments
Most Runs in Knock-Out Matches of ICC Tournaments
Highest Batting Average in ICC Tournaments
Most Fifties in ICC Tournaments
Most Fifties in Knock-Out Matches of ICC Tournaments
Most Centuries in ICC Tournaments
Most Centuries in Knock-Out Matches of ICC Tournaments
Most Wickets in ICC Tournaments
Most Wickets in in Knock-Out Matches of ICC Tournaments
Most Man of the Match Awards in ICC
Most Wins by Players in ICC Tournaments
Key Insights
40: MS Dhoni and Ricky Ponting hold the joint record for winning the most matches as captains in ICC tournaments. Both took their teams to 40 wins across three white-ball events.
38: Ponting’s 38 wins in ICC ODI events are the most by a captain. Australia emerged victorious in 26 ODI World Cup games and 12 Champions Trophy matches under Ponting’s tutelage. The former Australian skipper also tops the runs chart in these tournaments while captaining the side.
9: Dhoni won nine of the 40 games in the knockout stages. This is the most wins by a captain in ICC knockouts.
58: Dhoni has also captained in the most ICC matches. He led India in 58 limited-over games from 2007 to 2016. Check MSD’s captaincy stats across formats.
10: During that period, Dhoni was at the helm of the Indian team for 10 ICC events, the most by a skipper. Ponting follows him with nine tournaments.
4: Ponting has won the most ICC trophies as a captain. The former Australian skipper led his side to four title triumphs between 2003 and 2009 – two ODI World Cups (2003 & 2007) and two Champions Trophies (2006 & 2009).
15: Between October 21, 2006, and April 28, 2007, Ponting guided Australia to 15 consecutive wins in ICC tournaments. This is the longest winning streak as a captain in ICC events.
3: MS Dhoni is the only captain to win all three ICC white-ball trophies. Under his leadership, the Indian team won the T20 World Cup (2007), ODI World Cup (2011), and Champions Trophy (2013).
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