T20 is the fastest-moving format in international cricket. And as a skipper, one needs to be quick on the feet to make any sort of decision.
However, their role in creating impact is not just limited to the decisions on the field but also the way they perform with the bat. As a specialist batter, a skipper is expected to contribute with the bat to the largest extent, either by scoring the bulk of the runs or smashing a quickfire game-changing cameo (in the case of a lower-order batter).
Here, we will see the captains have scored the most centuries while leading their side in T20Is.
Most Centuries by a Captain in T20Is
| Player | Team | Innings | 100s as Captain | High Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rohit Sharma | India | 62 | 3 | 121* |
| Babar Azam | Pakistan | 78 | 3 | 122 |
| Faheem Nazir | Switzerland | 11 | 2 | 113 |
| Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming | Japan | 45 | 2 | 114 |
| Ahmed Faiz | Malaysia | 57 | 1 | 105* |
| Aritra Dutta | Singapore | 8 | 1 | 122 |
| Tillakaratne Dilshan | Sri Lanka | 5 | 1 | 104* |
| Faf du Plessis | South Africa | 40 | 1 | 119 |
| Gerald Erasmus | Namibia | 73 | 1 | 100* |
| Aaron Finch | Australia | 76 | 1 | 172 |
| Shai Hope | West Indies | 19 | 1 | 102* |
| Izaz Ali | Slovenia | 16 | 1 | 118 |
| Paras Khadka | Nepal | 26 | 1 | 106* |
| Gyanendra Malla | Nepal | 10 | 1 | 107 |
| Mitchell Marsh | Australia | 32 | 1 | 103* |
| Muhammad Waseem | UAE | 65 | 1 | 100 |
| Obed Harvey | Ghana | 20 | 1 | 107* |
| Avinash Pai | Gibraltar | 32 | 1 | 107* |
| Monank Patel | USA | 28 | 1 | 104 |
| Hamid Shah | Denmark | 23 | 1 | 100 |
| Shaheryar Butt | Belgium | 10 | 1 | 125* |
| Sikandar Raza | Zimbabwe | 58 | 1 | 133* |
| Shane Watson | Australia | 1 | 1 | 124* |
| Suryakumar Yadav | India | 35 | 1 | 100 |
| Zeeshan Maqsood | Oman | 39 | 1 | 102* |
Key Insights on T20I Centuries and High-Impact Batting Records by Captains
Leading Captains by Total Centuries in T20Is
India’s Rohit Sharma and Pakistan’s Babar Azam lead the pack with three centuries each as skippers in T20Is. Check out Rohit Sharma’s international hundreds here.
All of Babar’s T20I hundreds ended up in wins for Pakistan. Two of those triple-digit figures came in successful run chases.
West Indies’ Shai Hope is the only captain-wicketkeeper to smash a century in T20Is.
Fastest and Highest Individual Scores as Captain
Zimbabwe’s Sikandar Raza has brought up the fastest century as a skipper in T20Is. He took 33 balls to score his maiden T20I ton against Gambia in the T20 World Cup Africa Sub-Regional Qualifier in 2024.
Raza’s captain’s knock powered Zimbabwe to the highest-ever team total in T20Is – 344 for 4.
Aaron Finch, who scored a solitary ton, has smashed the highest individual score as a captain in T20Is. He hammered a 172-run knock against Zimbabwe while leading Australia in the 2018 Harare T20I. This is also the highest individual score by any batter in T20Is.
Shane Watson is the only one to score a century on his T20I captaincy debut. He scored an unbeaten 124 against India in the 2016 Sydney T20I. This was the only match he captained Australia in.
Watson’s unbeaten 124 is the highest individual score by a captain in a losing cause in T20Is.
Captaincy Record-Holders in Run Accumulation and Chases
Babar has also scored the most runs as a captain in T20Is, having aggregated 2642 runs in 78 innings. His 26 fifty-plus scores are also the most by a skipper in T20Is.
Babar and Singapore’s Aritra Dutta have recorded the joint-highest individual score in a successful run chase as captains in T20Is. Both scored 122 runs each while taking their sides over the ropes against South Africa (Centurion, 2021) and Japan (Bangkok, 2024), respectively.
Read Next | List: Virat Kohli’s 90 to 99 Scores (All Formats)
