MSD captaincy achievements includes,
- Most matches played as captain in T20.
- Most matches played as captain in Tests for India.
- Most matches played as captain in ODI for India.
- Most matches as captain by any player across all formats.
- Second most win as captain in ODI.
- Most successful captain in T20 by having 20 wins in 33 matches as captain.
- Dhoni is the only captain to win all three major ICC limited-over tournaments.
- Under the leadership of Dhoni, India won the 2007 World T20, the 2011 ODI World Cup, and the 2013 Champions Trophy.
If these don’t make him the best captain in the Indian cricket history, I wonder what does. Let’s check his overall captaincy stats now!
MS Dhoni Captaincy Record (All Formats)
| Format | Matches | Won | Lost | Tied | Draw | No Result | Win% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test | 60 | 27 | 18 | – | 15 | – | 45.00 |
| ODI | 200 | 110 | 74 | 5 | – | 11 | 55.00 |
| T20I | 72 | 41 | 28 | 1 | – | 2 | 56.94 |
| IPL | 226 | 133 | 91 | – | – | 2 | 58.84 |
| Overall (Intl Only) | 332 | 178 | 120 | 6 | 15 | 13 | 53.61 |
Now let’s go format by format…
Dhoni Test Captaincy Record
MS Dhoni can be rightly called the most successful captain for India in all formats of Cricket in terms of matches he won for India as Captain.
- MS Dhoni holds the record for Most matches as an Indian Captain in Tests.
- MS Dhoni’s Win % had got a big dig when he suffered the controversial 8-0 overseas loss against England and Australia.
- Virat Kohli enjoys the most Win% by an Indian Captain currently. Check the complete Indian Test captaincy record here.
- In 2009, India held the numero-uno position in tests under Dhoni.
- In 2013, Dhoni became the first Indian captain to whitewash an Australian team in a test series.
- MSD overseas win count lies at 6, whereas Kohli leads that section.
Here is a table covering Indian Test captaincy record:
Indian Test Captaincy Record
| PLAYER | MATCHES AS CAPTAIN | WON | LOST | DRAWN | TIED | WIN% | OVERSEAS WINS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virat Kohli | 68 | 40 | 17 | 11 | 0 | 58.82 | 16 |
| MS Dhoni | 60 | 27 | 18 | 15 | 0 | 45 | 6 |
| Sourav Ganguly | 49 | 21 | 13 | 15 | 0 | 42.85 | 11 |
| Mohammad Azharuddin | 47 | 14 | 14 | 19 | 0 | 29.78 | 3 |
| Rohit Sharma | 24 | 12 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 50.00 | 2 |
| Sunil Gavaskar | 47 | 9 | 8 | 30 | 0 | 19.14 | 3 |
| Nawab of Pataudi | 40 | 9 | 19 | 12 | 0 | 22.5 | 2 |
| Rahul Dravid | 25 | 8 | 6 | 11 | 0 | 32 | 5 |
| Bishan Singh Bedi | 22 | 6 | 11 | 12 | 0 | 27.27 | 3 |
| Kapil Dev | 34 | 4 | 7 | 22 | 1 | 11.76 | 2 |
And now, let us check where MSD stands among the other top captains around the world!
Most Matches as Captain (Tests)
| Captain | Span | Matches | Win | Loss | Tie | Draw | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Graeme Smith (SA) | 2003-2014 | 109 | 53 | 29 | 0 | 27 | 48.62 |
| Allan Border (AUS) | 1984-1994 | 93 | 32 | 22 | 1 | 38 | 34.40 |
| Stephen Fleming (NZ) | 1997-2006 | 80 | 28 | 27 | 0 | 25 | 35.00 |
| Ricky Ponting (AUS) | 2004-2010 | 77 | 48 | 16 | 0 | 13 | 62.33 |
| Clive Lloyd (WI) | 1974-1985 | 74 | 36 | 12 | 0 | 26 | 48.64 |
| Virat Kohli (IND) | 2014-2022 | 68 | 40 | 17 | 0 | 11 | 58.82 |
| Joe Root (ENG) | 2017-2022 | 64 | 27 | 26 | 0 | 11 | 42.18 |
| MS Dhoni (IND) | 2008-2014 | 60 | 27 | 18 | 0 | 15 | 45.00 |
| Alastair Cook (ENG) | 2010-2016 | 59 | 24 | 22 | 0 | 13 | 42.85 |
| Steve Waugh (AUS) | 1999-2004 | 57 | 41 | 9 | 0 | 7 | 71.92 |
- Dhoni stands at 6th place when it comes to the Most matches by a captain in Test cricket.
- Dhoni has captained 60 matches whereas South Africa’s Graeme Smith ranks No.1 with 109 matches as Captain.
- Graeme Smith is the only International Test captain to lead his team more than 100 times in whites.
- Ricky Ponting with the boasting lead in win% of 62.33 stands tall. Ponting’s Australian team were considered one of the Dream Team in Test Cricket.
Dhoni Test Captaincy Stats Home/Away:
MSD has 15 losses out of 30 away test matches during his stint as captain.
But Still one could accept that the Indian Team during this phase was in a developmental stage when it comes to away Test Matches.
With no proper pace attack, it is not easy to win tests in England, Australia & South Africa.
This is one of my favorite improvement in the Indian team under Virat Kohli captaincy, where the Indian Pace bowlers are given the much-needed opportunity and they are shining brilliantly under Kohli. Umesh Yadav and Mohammad Shami look completely different bowlers under Virat Kohli.
Dhoni ODI Captaincy Record
When it comes to shorter format of the game, MS Dhoni has always stood out as a leader.
Indian ODI Captaincy Record
| PLAYER | MATCHES AS CAPTAIN | WON | LOST | TIED | NR | WIN% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MS Dhoni | 200 | 110 | 74 | 5 | 11 | 59.52 |
| Mohammad Azharuddin | 174 | 90 | 76 | 2 | 6 | 54.16 |
| Sourav Ganguly | 146 | 76 | 65 | 0 | 5 | 53.9 |
| Virat Kohli | 95 | 65 | 27 | 1 | 2 | 70.43 |
| Rahul Dravid | 79 | 42 | 33 | 0 | 4 | 56.00 |
| Kapil Dev | 74 | 39 | 32 | 0 | 2 | 54.16 |
| Sachin Tendulkar | 73 | 23 | 43 | 1 | 6 | 35.07 |
| Rohit Sharma | 50 | 36 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 72.00 |
| Sunil Gavaskar | 37 | 14 | 21 | 0 | 2 | 40.00 |
| Dilip Vengsarkar | 18 | 8 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 44.44 |
MS Dhoni as captain had won so many games and has led the Indian team for a record 199 matches where he ends up on the winning side for almost 60% of those.
Also, MSD holds the record for most win by an Indian captain in ODI.
Update: MS Dhoni played his 200th ODI as captain in Asia Cup 2018, when Rohit Sharma, captain of Indian team in that tournament was rested.
And, that match against Afghanistan ended as a tie.
With 200 matches as captain, MS Dhoni is still the Indian captain with the most matches as a captain in ODI.
In fact, he is only behind Ricky Ponting in the World to cap more International ODI matches as captain.
Most Matches as Captain (ODI)
| Captain | Span | Matches | Win | Loss | Tie | No Result | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ricky Ponting (AUS) | 2002-2012 | 230 | 165 | 51 | 2 | 12 | 71.73 |
| Stephen Fleming (NZ) | 1997-2007 | 218 | 98 | 106 | 1 | 13 | 44.95 |
| MS Dhoni (IND) | 2007-2018 | 200 | 110 | 74 | 5 | 11 | 55.00 |
| Arjuna Ranatunga (SL) | 1988-1999 | 193 | 89 | 95 | 1 | 8 | 46.11 |
| Allan Border (AUS) | 1985-1994 | 178 | 107 | 67 | 1 | 3 | 60.11 |
| Mohammad Azharuddin (IND) | 1990-1999 | 174 | 90 | 76 | 2 | 6 | 51.72 |
| Graeme Smith (SA) | 2003-2011 | 150 | 92 | 51 | 1 | 6 | 61.33 |
| Sourav Ganguly (IND) | 1999-2005 | 147 | 76 | 66 | 0 | 5 | 51.70 |
| Imran Khan (PAK) | 1982-1992 | 139 | 75 | 59 | 1 | 4 | 53.95 |
| Hansie Cronje (SA) | 1994-2000 | 138 | 99 | 35 | 1 | 3 | 71.73 |
Ricky Ponting holds the record for Most Matches as Captain (230) and Most Win by Captain (165) in ODI.
The Australian former captain comes top with a mighty 76.14% as the Win-Loss ratio.
Dhoni places himself at No.3 behind Ponting & his CSK Coach S Fleming who had led his NZ national team for an elongated 10-year span captaining 218 Matches.
He is one match ahead of Arjuna Ranatunga, the 1996 World Cup winning Sri Lanka captain.
Dhoni T20 Captaincy Record
When the format gets shorter and shorter, Dhoni just gets better & better with his stats.
MS Dhoni won the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007 with a team which is so young.
Most Matches as Captain (T20I)
| Captain | Span | Matches | Win | Loss | Tie | No Result | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Babar Azam (PAK) | 2019-2023 | 85 | 48 | 29 | 1 | 7 | 56.47 |
| Aaron Finch (AUS) | 2014-2022 | 76 | 40 | 32 | 1 | 3 | 52.63 |
| Kane Williamson (NZ) | 2012-2024 | 75 | 39 | 34 | 1 | 1 | 52.00 |
| Clinton Rubagumya (RWA) | 2021-2024 | 75 | 19 | 54 | 0 | 2 | 25.33 |
| MS Dhoni (IND) | 2007-2016 | 72 | 41 | 28 | 1 | 2 | 56.94 |
| Eoin Morgan (ENG) | 2012-2022 | 72 | 42 | 27 | 2 | 1 | 58.33 |
| Ahmed Faiz (MAL) | 2019-2024 | 67 | 39 | 25 | 1 | 2 | 58.20 |
| Gerhard Erasmus (NAM) | 2019-2024 | 64 | 38 | 25 | 1 | 0 | 59.37 |
| Rohit Sharma (IND) | 2017-2024 | 62 | 49 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 79.03 |
| Brian Masaba (UGA) | 2021-2024 | 60 | 45 | 12 | 0 | 3 | 75.00 |
MS Dhoni holds the record for Most Number of T20 Matches as Captain and Most Number of Win in T20 as Captain.
Technically Dhoni also has the most number of losses in T20 as captain.
Now we have done with all the three formats of cricket, let us look into some records Dhoni as captain holds.
Dhoni Captaincy Records in All Formats
MSD had captained the Indian Team for about 10 years in all 3 formats. No Surprise he holds the record for the Most Matches played as Captain in all formats of Cricket.
Most Matches as Captain (All Formats)
| Captain | Span | Matches | Wins |
|---|---|---|---|
| MS Dhoni (IND) | 2007-2018 | 332 | 178 |
| Ricky Ponting (AUS) | 2002-2012 | 324 | 220 |
| Stephen Fleming (NZ) | 1997-2007 | 303 | 128 |
| Graeme Smith (SA) | 2003-2014 | 286 | 163 |
| Allan Border (AUS) | 1984-1994 | 271 | 139 |
| Arjuna Ranatunga (SL) | 1988-1999 | 249 | 101 |
| Mohammad Azharuddin (IND) | 1990-1999 | 221 | 104 |
| Virat Kohli (IND) | 2013-2022 | 213 | 135 |
| Kane Williamson (NZ) | 2012-2024 | 202 | 105 |
| Eoin Morgan (ENG) | 2011-2022 | 198 | 118 |
Dhoni is the only captain to win all three major ICC limited-over tournaments.
Under the leadership of Dhoni, India won the 2007 World T20, the 2011 ODI World Cup, and the 2013 Champions Trophy.
He led India in six finals of limited-over tournaments involving five or more teams and India won four of them, which is the joint most by any captain for a team in limited-over internationals.
His unbeaten 91 in the finals of the 2011 World Cup made him the third captain to win Man of the Match award after Clive Lloyd in 1975 and Ricky Ponting in 2003.
Update: Dhoni lead the Indian team in the absence of Rohit Sharma, the Indian captain in Asia Cup 2018. So, make it a total of 332 matches as captain for MSD.
MS Dhoni – 200th ODI as Captain of #TeamIndia ?#INDvAFG pic.twitter.com/4PWQNzVgiA — BCCI (@BCCI) September 25, 2018
Dhoni ODI Runs as Captain
MSD Captaincy has never faded his Batting Skills and his Chasing Master Skill in any occasion.
Most ODI Runs as Captain
| PLAYER (CAPTAIN) | RUNS | INNINGS | AVERAGE | 100/50 | HIGH SCORE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ricky Ponting (AUS) | 8497 | 220 | 42.91 | 22/51 | 164 |
| MS Dhoni (IND) | 6641 | 172 | 53.56 | 6/47 | 139* |
| Stephen Fleming (NZ) | 6295 | 208 | 32.79 | 7/38 | 134* |
| Arjuna Ranatunga (SL) | 5608 | 183 | 37.64 | 4/37 | 131* |
| Virat Kohli (IND) | 5449 | 91 | 72.65 | 21/27 | 160* |
| Graeme Smith (SA) | 5416 | 148 | 38.96 | 8/37 | 141 |
| Mohd Azharuddin (IND) | 5239 | 162 | 38.96 | 4/37 | 153* |
| Sourav Ganguly (IND) | 5104 | 143 | 38.67 | 11/30 | 144 |
| AB de Villiers (SA) | 4796 | 98 | 63.95 | 13/27 | 162* |
| Alan Border (AUS) | 4439 | 165 | 32.17 | 2/27 | 127* |
Stats Highlights
- MS Dhoni scored 6,633 runs as a captain in ODIs, which is the second most by any captain after Ponting’s 8,497 runs.
- His average of 53.92 in ODIs as a captain is also the second highest for any captain who has scored at least 1,000 runs in ODIs till date. AB de Villiers is at first place in the table by scoring 4,219 runs from 87 ODIs as a captain, with an average of 65.92.
- Dhoni also holds the record for Most Runs in T20 as Captain – 1112 Runs in 72 Matches.
- Dhoni also holds the record for Most Sixes by any Captain – 126 Sixes in 199 Matches as Captain. Ponting Comes 2nd with 123 Sixes.
- MS Dhoni’s Average in Successful Run Chases being a Captain stands at 70.83 which is third among the International Captains.
- MSD Not-Outs Count has been at 26 as a Captain in Successful Run Chases, which is again a World Record.
- Dhoni also holds the record for doing the Dual Role of being a Captain and the WicketKeeper for most matches – 331 Matches.
NEXT UP: SOURAV GANGULY – CAPTAINCY RECORD
