The ICC tournaments test players, especially captains, on another level. And it’s even tougher in the Champions Trophy, where every match is a do-or-die affair.
The captains have to put everything on the line to take their teams on the winning side. And the 50-over competition has seen some astute skippers lead their sides from the front.
So here are the top 10 most successful captains in Champions Trophy history.
Most Successful Captains in Champions Trophy
| Captain | Matches | Won | Lost | Tied | No Result | Win% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ricky Ponting | 16 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 75.00 |
| Brian Lara | 15 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 73.33 |
| Stephen Fleming | 13 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 61.53 |
| Sourav Ganguly | 11 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 63.63 |
| MS Dhoni | 8 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 75.00 |
| Rohit Sharma | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Sanath Jayasuriya | 7 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 57.14 |
| Mahela Jayawardene | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 66.67 |
| Sarfaraz Ahmed | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 80.00 |
| Graeme Smith | 9 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 44.44 |
More Champions Trophy Stats
Highest Individual Scores in CT
Most Sixes in a Single Innings by a Team in CT
Highest Targets Successfully Defended in CT
Highest Totals Successfully Chased in CT
Most Runs in a Single CT Edition
Most Sixes in a Single CT Edition
Key Insights
12: Ricky Ponting has won the most matches as captain in the Champions Trophy. He led Australia to 12 victories out of the 16 matches he captained in. Brian Lara is the other captain with more than 10 wins.
10: Ponting, Lara, Stephen Fleming, and Sourav Ganguly are the only four captains to lead their respective teams in more than 10 matches in the Champions Trophy. The number rises to 15 if we consider the captains with five games.
7: These four captains have also won the 50-over event, alongside Hansie Cronje, MS Dhoni, and Sarfaraz Ahmed. Ponting is the only captain to win the Champions Trophy twice, that too in back-to-back editions in 2006 and 2009.
5: Lara has won the most knockout matches as skipper in the tournament’s history. The West Indies won five of the seven knockout matches under Lara’s leadership.
2: Fleming and Graeme Smith are the two captains with the most losses. Both skippers lost five matches each in the Champions Trophy.
