Leading a cricket team is not an easy task. Some captains might come out with flying colours, while others might sink under immense captaincy pressure.
There have been some captains who have led their teams with excellence, along with displaying their sheer batting capabilities. Some notable captains, like Ricky Ponting and Virat Kohli, led their teams from the front and notched up remarkable centuries along the way.
On that note, here are the top 10 captains with the most centuries in all formats.
Most Centuries as Captain in All Formats
| Player | Innings | 100s as Captain | High Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virat Kohli (IND) | 250 | 41 | 254* |
| Ricky Ponting (AUS) | 376 | 41 | 209 |
| Graeme Smith (SA) | 368 | 33 | 277 |
| Steve Smith (AUS) | 128 | 20 | 239 |
| Michael Clarke (AUS) | 171 | 19 | 329* |
| Brian Lara (WI) | 204 | 19 | 400* |
| Mahela Jayawardene (SL) | 205 | 18 | 374 |
| Kane Williamson (NZ) | 222 | 18 | 251 |
| Allan Border (AUS) | 319 | 17 | 205 |
| Steve Waugh (AUS) | 172 | 17 | 199 |
Key insights from the above stats
41: India’s one of the most successful captain, Virat Kohli, and Australia’s World Cup winning captain, Ricky Ponting, share the joint record for the most centuries as captains in all formats. Both scored 41 hundreds for their respective teams.
15440: Ricky Ponting accumulated a staggering 15440 runs in 376 innings as a captain across formats. This is the highest tally of runs by a skipper in Tests, ODIs, and T20Is combined.
25: Out of Graeme Smith’s 33 hundreds, 25 alone came in the Test format. This is the most tons smashed by a skipper in the longer format.
22: Talking about ODI cricket, Ponting sits at the top with 21 tons to his name as captain. (Check out Ricky Ponting’s list of hundreds here.)
3: In the T20I format, Pakistan’s former captain Babar Azam holds the top spot with 3 centuries. (Check out Babar Azam’s list of centuries here.)
400: The West Indies’ prolific batter, Brian Lara, holds the record for the highest individual score by a skipper in Tests and international cricket. Lara scored an unbeaten 400 against England in a Test match in 2004. This is also the highest individual score by any player in Test cricket.
8: The number of captains from Australia who have notched up 10 or more hundreds in all formats.
