Most of the teams in the Indian Premier League are captained by Indian cricketers. Among the best Indian captains, two cricketers definitely come to mind. Those are Chennai Super Kings captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and former Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma. Both of them won five titles each with their captaincy skills and their teams are at the top of online IPL betting preference charts. However, let us find about the top five best Indian captains in IPL along with them.
Best Indian Captains in IPL – Top Five Indian Captains
- Indian legendary cricketers Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Rohit Sharma and Gautam Gambhir are the captains who have won the IPL trophy more than once.
- Under the leadership of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Chennai Super Kings won the IPL trophy five times. Also, under the leadership of Rohit Sharma, Mumbai Indians also won the IPL title five times.
- Under the captaincy of Gautam Gambhir, Kolkata Knight Riders won the IPL trophy twice.
- Virat Kohli was the captain of the Royal Challengers team from 2011 to 2021. Virat Kohli is the third most successful captain with a winning percentage of 48.56%.
- Under the captaincy of Team India’s young cricketer Hardik Pandya, Gujarat Titans won the IPL Cup in the 2022 IPL season and went to the final in the 2023 IPL season as well.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni – Chennai Super Kings
Not only among the best Indian captains in the history of the Indian Premier League. Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the number-one player in all the IPL seasons so far. Dhoni, who has been playing in the IPL since 2008, has led the Chennai Super Kings team to victory in the 2010, 2011, 2018, 2021 and 2023 seasons. Also, under the captaincy of Dhoni, the Chennai Super Kings team played a total of 226 matches, out of which there were 133 victories. The success percentage is 59.37%.
Rohit Sharma – Mumbai Indians
After Mahendra Singh Dhoni, former Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma is the second-best Indian captain in IPL. From 2013 to 2023, under the captaincy of Rohit Sharma, Mumbai Indians played a total of 158 matches and won 87 matches. The win percentage under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy is 56.32%. Mumbai Indians under the captaincy of Rohit Sharma won the IPL five times in 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2020.
Gautam Gambhir – Kolkata Knight Riders
Under the captaincy of Gautam Gambhir, Kolkata Knight Riders won the IPL twice. In the 2012 IPL season, Chennai Super Kings won and in the 2014 IPL season Kings XI Punjab won. Also, under the captaincy of Gautam Gambhir, the Kolkata Knight Riders team played 129 matches and won 71 matches. The success percentage is 55.42%.
Virat Kohli – Royal Challengers Bangalore
Royal Challengers Bangalore have an inseparable bond with Virat Kohli. Ever since the start of IPL in 2008, Virat Kohli has been playing for the Royal Challengers Bangalore team. Kohli, who was selected as the captain of the Bengaluru team in the IPL 2011 season, continued till 2021. Under the captaincy of Virat Kohli, the Bangalore team played a total of 143 matches and won 66 matches. The success percentage is 48.56%. Unfortunately, under the captaincy of Virat Kohli, the Royal Challengers Bangalore team did not win a single IPL title.
Hardik Pandya – Gujarat Titans
The Gujarat Titans team has made its debut in the 2022 IPL season. However, the Gujarat Titans won the IPL trophy in their very first season under the captaincy of Hardik Pandya. Also, the 2023 IPL season went to the final. Under the captaincy of Hardik Pandya, the Gujarat Titans team played a total of 31 matches and won 22 matches. The success percentage is 70.96%. Recently, the Mumbai Indians bought Hardik Pandya and made him the captain.
Final thoughts Best Indian Captains in IPL
Though we have compiled this list as the best of all Indian captains, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Sanju Samson, and Virender Sehwag are also recognized as the finest Indian captains in the IPL. Currently, Shreyas Iyer is the captain of the Kolkata Knight Riders, while KL Rahul is the captain of the Lucknow Supergiants. Sanju Samson is the captain of the Rajasthan Royals and Shikhar Dhawan is the captain of the Punjab Kings.