“Any captain can only give his team and cricket his best effort. You are a hero when you are triumphant. If you lose, the applause will stop. These words from one of cricket’s greatest voices, Richie Benaud, highlight the difficult life captains lead in the sport. While they are applauded for their teams’ victories, they are frequently harshly criticized if they lose or even if there are other problems within the team, such as team composition or off-field decisions. See the Top 10 Cricket Captains.
Thus, a successful captain is someone who can handle pressure with confidence and stick to his mission even as public opinion and demands are constantly shifting. With success comes popularity, and in cricket there have been a number of captains who have attained the highest levels of popularity due to their charismatic leadership abilities and all-around good looks.
Top 10 Popular Cricket Captain In The World All Time
10. Arjuna Ranatunga
When one talks about Srilankan cricket one name that anyone cannot miss is Arjuna Ranatunga. His brilliant leadership skills and vision for Srilankan cricket completely changed the fortunes of the Srilankan cricket team. Before the 1996 world Cup, Srilanka was considered one of the comparatively weaker teams, but Ranatunga and his understanding of the game along with his ability to take bold decisions and back his players turned out to be a game-changer.
His decision to open with Kaluwitharana and Jayasurya completely surprised the opposition teams as they came out all guns blazing right from the word go!!!
Not only on the field, but Ranatunga also backed and supported his players off the field too. Often helping his teammates financially or in any other matter as Srilankan cricket and players at that time were financially not much well off. Ranatunga has won 12 test matches of the 56 he has captained while he captained in 193 ODIs winning 89 of them and leading them to their only World Cup triumph in 1996.
9. Brendon Mccullum
Brendon Mccullum, the dasher, who is renowned for his fearless batting, was named captain of New Zealand in December 2012, and it quickly became apparent that his team would play the aggressive and fearless brand of cricket that he had been playing as an individual. While he has led his team to some memorable victories in Test cricket, including ones in Headingly and the United Arab Emirates. As a captain, he performed best in ODI matches. His ODI winning percentage is 61.86, and the New Zealanders’ historic entry into the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup final was the pinnacle of his captaincy career. When he completely destroyed the opposing bowlers while batting 158 in the IPL opener, Mccullum shot to prominence.
His aggressive brand of cricket shocked the opposition teams during that time and during the world cup because he adopted the same attitude while playing cricket for New Zealand. Eoin Morgan acknowledged that they decided to play cricket more like the Kiwis after the 2015 World Cup. As a result, the captain, Brendon Mccullum, was a charismatic and genuine leader who captivated cricket fans everywhere.
8. Eoin Morgan
Eoin Morgan, the captain, has changed the way white-ball cricket is played in England. He has shifted the emphasis away from red-ball cricket and brought about a new era in English cricket. Due to England’s poor showing at the 2015 World Cup, captain Morgan made the decision to make significant changes to the White Ball Cricket team. Morgan led from the front, demonstrating to his teammates how England will proceed in future white-ball matches. This completely altered the English team, who from 2015 to the World Cup 2019 struggled to score even 300 goals and instead started scoring 400 or more.
After several failed attempts, the fearless strategy eventually paid off and England went on to win their first World Cup in 50 overs. As a result, Eoin Morgan, the captain and batter, has recently attained new heights of popularity as a person who transformed English cricket. As a captain, he has won 37 out of 64 T20Is, which puts him in second place overall. In 124 ODIs played as captain, he has 74 victories. The English Captain, who was born in Ireland, is poised to reach new heights as a captain soon.
7. Graeme Smith
He has captained his national team in Test matches more than anyone else in the world. He was an outstanding batter in his own right but captaincy responsibilities at a young age made sure that Graeme Smith will forever remain as the Godfather of Southafrican captains. So successful and charismatic was his leadership that even at the fag end of his career there was not a single person who questioned Smith’s captaincy and he retired quite fittingly as a captain only. During his tenure as captain, South Africa became the No.
1 Test team in the world and started winning all over the globe. It was during his tenure that South Africa chased the highest total ever and Smith leading from the front scored majestic quickfire 90 in that match. He captained in 150 ODIs and won 92 of them. Smith is a legend and he will forever be remembered as a leader in world cricket as a man who took his country to the pinnacle of success.
6. Sourav Ganguly
“Dada,” as he is affectionately known by his admirers and close friends, is regarded as a leader who revolutionized Indian cricket. He was the captain who, no matter who the opposition captain was, saw things the same way. As match-fixing cast a long shadow over Indian cricket, Dada assumed the captaincy and assembled a core group of players who would serve Indian cricket for a very long time. India defeated Australia at Eden Gardens, ending the unstoppable Aussie Juggernaut under his captaincy.
Under Ganguly’s leadership, India began winning internationally again after the 1970s and 1980s, building a foundation for a team that won the world cup in 2011. He led India in 146 one-day internationals, winning 76 of them. While captaining the Test team, he won 21 of the 49 matches, lost 13, and drew the other matches. Among Indian captains, Ganguly has one of the best international records.
5. Imran Khan
He led Pakistan to victory in the 1992 Cricket World Cup, the nation’s only one-day World Cup victory to date. Imran Khan was a charismatic leader who was respected by all, both on and off the field. He abruptly decided to retire after losing the semifinal of the 1987 World Cup, but he returned a year later as the entire Pakistan wanted their leader back.
He was a fantastic all-arounder who could contribute with the bat and the ball, but more than anything, he had the foresight and ability to support the players he thought were deserving. When Inzamam ul Haq, a young player at the time, played an unexpected match-winning innings against New Zealand, the captain’s encouraging words and support paid off. Imran Khan became one of the most well-liked captains of all time because he didn’t hesitate to think outside the box in order to get the results he desired.
4. Clive Lloyd
The leader of one of cricket’s most illustrious and successful teams. He led the West Indies as captain during the period in which the Caribbean team ruled international cricket in the 1970s and 1980s. Under his leadership, the Windies won back-to-back world championships in 1975 and 1979 before falling to India in the 1983 championship game. His leadership style allowed the Windies to win 27 Test matches without a defeat, including 11 straight victories. He was able to manage and bring the best out of each champion player he had.
Despite being a world-class batter himself, Clive is best known for leading the most dominant cricket team in history. The fact that he led Windies in 84 One-Day Internationals (ODIs), winning 64 of them, demonstrates the level of dominance that team possessed at the time. As a captain, he has the best ODI winning percentage (77.71%). ( at least 50 ODIS).
3. Steve Waugh
The cricketer who launched Australia’s reign of terror in the 1990s was a fighter who excelled with the bat, ball, and as a leader. Steve Waugh’s ability to take the lead when the team was under pressure is his most highly praised quality in the entire world. He produced a generation of cricketers who dominated the sport for the following ten or so years. Australia won the 1999 World Cup under his captaincy despite being on the verge of being eliminated from the competition and needing to win five consecutive games to do so. His performance during the world cup semifinal was the real testament to his sharp mind and ability to perform well under pressure.
Australia became the top-ranked Test team under him, and his record as a Test captain is even better. Under his leadership, they won 41 of the 57 Test matches they played, eventually falling to India, whom he had dubbed the “Last Frontier.”
The era of Australian dominance in cricket was started by Steve Waugh, who is regarded as one of the most well-liked and successful captains in all of cricket.
2. Ricky Ponting
Despite the Test team’s continued success, which included a 3-0 home series victory over South Africa in 2001–2002, the One-Day International (ODI) team struggled and didn’t advance to the triangular tournament’s finals, which led to Steve Waugh’s expulsion from the one-day squad in February 2002. Adam Gilchrist, who was vice captain at the time, lost out to Ponting for the captaincy. The ODI team’s fortunes quickly turned around, and Ponting’s team won their first series while on the South African tour, defeating the group that had won the competition that put an end to Waugh’s reign.
Ponting was heavily involved in the Test tour of South Africa after being promoted to the ODI captaincy. In the Second Test, which Australia won by four wickets in Cape Town thanks to his 100 unbeaten runs, Paul Adams’ bowling gave Australia the winning run with a six. In the third test, he scored 89 runs, giving him a series total of 308 runs at an average of 77.25 and a strike rate of 76.48. [67] Without the Waugh twins, Australia entered the seven-match ODI series.
Late in 2002, Ponting played a significant role in the 3-0 rout of Pakistan on neutral ground. He scored 150 in the third test in Sharjah after scoring 141 in the first test in Colombo, finishing with 342 runs at 85.50.
1. Mahendra Singh Dhoni
The quiet Ranchi boy who had a reputation for being quiet behind the stumps in the beginning of his career retired as the most popular and successful captain of India. Dhoni is the best white ball captain in the game and has won every trophy there is in cricket. He became the captain he is thanks to his ability to follow his instincts and make unconventional choices. His capacity to maintain composure under pressure, both as a batsman and as a captain, has earned him the nickname “Captain Cool.” India was ranked first in the ICC Test rankings in 2009–2010 while MSD served as captain. The first T20 World Cup, which India won with a young team to usher in the MSD era, marked the beginning of his captaincy career. Csk won the IPL three times under his leadership, and India also won the Champions Trophy in 2013.
The 50-over World Cup that India won at home in 2011 is the biggest accomplishment of Dhoni’s captaincy, though. Dhoni has led India in 331 games overall, winning 178 of them across all formats. This, combined with his big-hitting and finishing abilities, made him the face of Indian cricket for a very long time and the most well-liked captain in both his country and the entire world.
