Top 10 Greatest ODI Captains of all Time

10. Imran Khan (Pakistan) – 75 wins

Imran Khan is seen as one of the best all-rounders to have played cricket ever. But there is more to him than just being one of the best players to have come out from Pakistan. He was equally proficient as a leader and hopes to thousands of Pakistan cricket fans. He was like an emperor, his leadership was paternal. He was a father like figure to every member in the Pakistan team. He had a vision and set his eyes on the prestigious World Cup. In 1992, in the World Cup jointly held in New Zealand and Australia he accomplished the dream. He led from the front and brought home their first ever World Cup trophy. Imran Khan goes down in the history as one of the best captains in one day internationals. He has 75 wins from 139 matches as captain at a win percent of 53.96%. He is no.10 in the list of Top 10 Greatest ODI Captains of all Time.

9. Sourav Ganguly (India) – 76 wins

Sourav Ganguly is often seen as someone who always had an opinion on every matter after his retirement, sometimes they were controversial as well. But during his playing days he was the strike partner to the ‘Little Master’ Sachin Tendulkar. Ganguly was at his ease against the left arm spinners, charging against them and clearing the ropes at will. He was pure bliss to watch. But what made this man from Bengal so special. Turn the pages of the Indian Cricket History to the late 90s, when this team was simply in a turmoil. Youngsters wanting to be cricketers had second thoughts of being a cricketer. No one put their hands up to rejuvenate the team from the ashes. But one man did – Sourav Ganguly. He put passion, determination and attitude back into the team and to believe in their talents and skills. If it was not for this visionary, we would not have had a ‘Sultan of Multan’ Virender Sehwag or the ‘Turbanator’ Harbhajan Singh and not even Yuvraj Singh. He carried the team from rags and build a foundation for the future. He didn’t let his opponent cut loose, always had an eye to eye contact with them. During his tenure as captain he led India to Natwest Trophy win in 2005 and reaching the World Cup Finals in 2003. He has 76 wins from 147 matches with a win percent of 51.70%. He is no.9 in the list.

8. Arjuna Ranatunga (Sri Lanka) – 89 wins

What Imran Khan was to Pakistan, Arjuna Ranatunga was to Sri Lanka. He led Sri Lanka to their greatest triumph in 1996 and announced their entry into the grand stage. One of the main takeaways from his captaincy was he always stood by his team and defended every decision he took. The decision to take an inexperienced Sanath Jayasurya was basically influenced by his belief in instincts. Besides his abilities as a captain, he was an effective and efficient middle order batsman as well. With his deft touches and fluent drives, the runs kept flowing in despite his poor fitness issues. His contribution to Sri Lankan cricket is very immense, not just the World Cup triumph but the belief he brought about in the team. He has 89 wins from 193 matches with a win percent of 46.11%. He is no.8 in the list.

7. Mohammad Azharuddin – 89 wins

For people who have watched cricket in the 90s will know how good a batting talent he was. He was an absolute artist with the willow and was pure bliss to watch with his wristwork. But his prowess was not just confined as a middle order batsman, he was also one of the best captains India has produced. He was at his ease as a captain in the home pitches, though he struggled to make any changes to the team’s fortune abroad. When he was going well as captain of the team, match fixing allegations brought an outright end to his career. He was unlucky enough to end his test career on 99 tests. He has guided India to 89 wins from 174 matches with a win percent of 51.15%. He is no.7 in the list.

6. Graeme Smith (South Africa) – 91 wins

Graeme Smith is known as a meaty and muscular opener, who scored runs in plenty for South Africa. But Smith is often seen as one of the quintessential leader South Africa so badly wanted and gave them a new found belief. Smith always did the things in his own way – be it batting or captaincy. He took over the reigns of captaincy at 22, it has been a fairytale run since that. He was South Africa’s youngest captain and presented with the daunting task of rejuvenating South African cricket. He never followed the orthodox approaches to captaincy, he believed on his instincts. Graeme Smith led South Africa to 91 wins from 149 matches with a win percent of 61.07%. He is no.6 in the list.

5. Stephen Fleming (New Zealand) – 98 wins

Stephen Fleming is one of New Zealand’s successful captains after Martin Crowe. But he couldn’t get his hands on the cricket’s ultimate prize – The World Cup. He was inspirational, determined and always with a plan. He brought about stability in the New Zealand team management. He was not an animated leader, though he made his points clear to the team and got the job done. Opponent teams had high degree of respect of Fleming as a captain and cricketer. He always made sure that his team played the Gentleman’s game in good spirits. He had a golden era of cricketers with him like Astle, Cairns, McMillan and Shane Bond with him. He always prioritized on leading the team from the front, and never took a back seat. He led New Zealand from 1997-2007, during which he led his team to 98 wins from 218 matches with a win percent of 44.95%. He is no.5 in the list.

4. Hansie Cronje (South Africa) – 99 wins

He was 32 when he left this world owing to a plane crash. Two years back, he was acquitted in a match fixing scandal that involved former Indian captain, Mohammad Azharuddin. He was banned for life. Cronje, who denied charges of match fixing allegations initially admitted to having accepted bribes from bookies for providing information related to the matches. That was the dark period. But before that Hansie Cronje was a champion leader and someone who led the team with elan. For a team which was laid down by apartheid, he brought the team from shambles and helped in bringing integrity back in South African cricket. The importance of discipline, honesty and dedication had been inculcated at him from an early age. He was aggressive as a batsman, tidy with his medium pace and a very effective fielder. But his captaincy stood out and he carried on his shoulder a handful of cricketers and made them dream big. He led the Proteas to 99 wins from 140 matches with a win percent of 70.71%. The win percent speaks a lot about him as a captain and the promise he showed as a leader. He is no.4 in the list.

3. MS Dhoni (India) – 104*

Mahendra Singh Dhoni took over the shoulders of captaincy from Rahul Dravid in 2008. In 2008, he won the World T20 championship in 2008 and showed to the cricketing fraternity and put confidence on the selectors that he was ready for the uphill task to be the torch bearer of Indian cricket for the coming years. Ironically, it was Sachin Tendulkar who had suggested Dhoni’s name to take over as captain. It was the same man who suggested Ganguly’s name owing to the match fixing turmoil earlier. At the start of his career, he was known as an un-orthodox swashbuckling wicket keeper batsman. But as time went, he got matured well enough to be touted as one of the best finishers Indian cricket has ever seen in the limited overs format. With improvements he made in his batting and keeping, he improved very much as a captain. He was simple, yet powerful in his approach. He was not much animated as a leader, but ensured the message was spread across the team. he backed the players and defended every decision he took. He never backed down from any challenge. The most important of his achievements was winnings the ICC World T-20 Championship in 2008, ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 and the Commonwealth Bank Series. Besides that, he had led India to no.1 spot in the ICC Test rankings. He led India to victory in 104 matches and is still counting. He has a win percent of 58.88%. He is no.3 in the list.

2. Allan Border (Australia) – 107 wins

Allan Border is known to be one of cricket’s all time greats. He was a deadly one day batsman with a thirst for success. He was not the natural or born leader stuff, but who had to shoulder Australia on the resignation of Kim Hughes. When he took over, Australian cricket was in a turmoil. He had to start it from scratch and build a team that was capable of playing the best and surviving the setbacks. He led Australia to its first world cup victory in 1987, it was the beginning of a golden era of cricket for Australia. The next decade and half belonged to Australia. It was much due to the foundation that this great visionary had laid on. He was considered a misfit in the limited overs cricket, for his un-attractive batting style. In the annals of cricket history, he has a special place much due to his innovative captaincy and being the torch bearer who brought about a new found professionalism and positive attitude. He led Australia in 178 matches, off which 107 ended on the winning side with a win percent of 59.89%. He is no.2 in the list.

1. Ricky Ponting (Australia) – 165 wins

Ricky Thomas Ponting – The most successful captain in international cricket. The evolution of Ricky Ponting – a worth ready story for any enthusiast. When he started his career, he was very aggressive, but his attitude was not worth mentioning – for he was very much short tempered. People never felt he was a captaincy material. But he continued to play a major part in the team for his instincts with the bat and on the field. As time went by, he matured as a batsman and as a team player. He rose to be one of the talisman of the team when Steve Waugh was the captain. After Steve quit captaincy, there were no second thoughts about selecting his successor. Ricky Ponting continued the good work what Steve Waugh had been doing – winning the world cups in 2003 and 2007. Australia also enjoyed a golden era in test cricket under his captaincy. He is another captain who leads by example. In the 2003 World Cup final against India, he led the charge and made sure Australia got enough on the board. It was one of the best innings played by a captain in a World Cup Final. His periods of captaincy is very interesting from a cricket analyst’s point of view. During the first 3 years of his reign, he didn’t have to devise any strategies or play with his mind for he had a champion unit. But after their retirements, he had to mould a team for the future and that is where the true captain in Ricky Ponting showed up. He led Australia in 230 matches, off which they found success in 165 matches at a win percent of 71.74%. He leads the pack of Top 10 Greatest ODI Captains of all Time.

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