In ODI cricket, it is said that a big hundred from one of their batters will help the team in a long way to dominate the proceedings. The majority of captains in ODIs have either been batters or all-rounders, and rarely do we see a bowler leading the side. So there is a great possibility that a batting captain has a chance more often than not to amass centuries in this format of the game and make a sizeable contribution to their team.
Let us take a look at which captains have created the maximum impact with willow in hand in terms of scoring centuries. Here are the captains with the most centuries in ODIs.
Most Centuries by a Captain in ODIs
| Player | Innings | 100s as Captain | High Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ricky Ponting (AUS) | 220 | 22 | 164 |
| Virat Kohli (IND) | 91 | 21 | 160* |
| AB de Villiers (SA) | 98 | 13 | 162* |
| Sourav Ganguly (IND) | 143 | 11 | 144 |
| Sanath Jayasuriya (SL) | 118 | 10 | 189 |
| Eoin Morgan (ENG) | 115 | 9 | 148 |
| William Porterfield (IRE) | 110 | 9 | 139 |
| Babar Azam (PAK) | 42 | 8 | 158 |
| Graeme Smith (SA) | 148 | 8 | 141 |
| Stephen Fleming (NZ) | 208 | 7 | 134* |
Key stats
105: Number of batters to have scored at least an ODI century when they captained their team in this format, and it shrinks to 19 when we take into account the players with 5 or more ODI hundreds when at the helm.
22: Ricky Ponting’s tally of 22 ODI tons is the most anyone has scored as a captain of his side. He did so in 230 matches and by amassing 8497 runs, again the most by any captain in both categories.
Also Read | Top 10: Most Runs as Captain in ODI Cricket
72.65: Virat Kohli’s batting average is the best for a captain, with a minimum of 2000 ODI runs, and he has made 21 centuries in just 91 innings. Virat has the best innings-per-century ratio as a captain (minimum 75 games).
2: Number of captains on the list from India and South Africa. While Virat and Sourav Ganguly are the batters from India, Graeme Smith and AB de Villiers represent the Proteas.
110.76: Rohit Sharma’s strike rate as a batter while captaining India in ODI cricket and this is the best number for a skipper with more than 2000 runs. He has scored 4 centuries as captain of India so far.
