Top 5 Indian captains with most wins in T20I Cricket ft. Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav
Rohit Sharma has the best win percentage as an Indian captain in T20I cricket.
The Indian team adopted the T20I format quite late, but was the first team to win the T20 World Cup under the captaincy of MS Dhoni. Interestingly, India’s first T20I captain was not Dhoni, but Virender Sehwag, who led India in their maiden T20I match against South Africa in 2006.
Since then, several players have captained India in the shortest format, and some have had considerable success. Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Suryakumar Yadav are a few names who come to mind who have shown great leadership in T20Is, displaying sharp instincts, quick decision-making, and other traits that have made them successful.
On that note, here we take a look at the top five Indian captains with the most wins in the T20I Cricket.
Indian captains with the most wins in T20I:
5. Hardik Pandya – 10 wins in 16 T20Is
Hardik Pandya was once the vice-captain of India’s T20I team during the 2022-24 period when Rohit Sharma led the team across formats. Whenever Rohit took a rest or focused on one format with an ICC trophy in mind, Pandya was the first choice to captain India.
Hardik captained India in 16 T20I matches from 2022 to 2023, winning 10, losing 5, with 1 match ending in a no result. Pandya was primed to take over as captain once Rohit retired, but in a surprise decision, Surya was named the new captain, and Hardik was removed from the leadership position.
4. Virat Kohli – 30 wins in 50 T20Is
Virat Kohli took over the T20I captaincy of India from MS Dhoni in 2017 and led the team till the 2021 T20 World Cup held in Dubai.
India performed well both at home and away under Kohli’s captaincy. However, Kohli decided to step down after India’s poor performance in the 2021 World Cup. He had a very good record in T20Is, as captain and as a batter.
Virat had captained India in 50 T20Is in five years of leadership. He won 30 matches, lost 16, drew 2, and had 2 no results. He ended his captaincy stint with a 60%-win ratio.
He also holds an unwanted record, as India suffered their first and only ICC T20 World Cup defeat to Pakistan under Kohli’s captaincy in the 2021 T20 World Cup.
3. Suryakumar Yadav – 38 wins in 50 T20Is
Suryakumar Yadav made his T20I debut for India in 2021 and soon became one of the best players in the shortest format. Surya was nowhere in the captaincy discussion, as Hardik Pandya was the vice-captain when Rohit Sharma retired from T20Is after winning the T20 World Cup 2024.
However, new India head coach Gautam Gambhir took a left-field decision, making Suryakumar Yadav the captain. This has resulted in India going on a rampage in T20Is. India have been almost invincible in this format. Under Surya’s captaincy, they won 38 out of 50 matches.
Surya has lost 8 games, with 2 ending in a tie and 2 ending in no result. India have not lost a bilateral T20I series since the T20 World Cup 2024, under Surya’s captaincy.
2. MS Dhoni – 41 wins in 72 T20Is
India’s brilliant captain, MS Dhoni, was the one who framed the blueprint for how the Men in Blue played the T20I format in their formative years.
Dhoni was surprisingly named India captain for the 2007 T20 World Cup ahead of players like Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh, and Yuvraj Singh. But he led a young, inexperienced team to a championship, and his legacy started.
Dhoni led India the most times in T20Is—72. He won 41 games, lost 28, with 1 ending in a tie and 2 ending in no result. Dhoni also captained India in the 2009, 2010, 2012, 2014, and 2016 T20 World Cups, leading the team to the final in 2014 and the semi-finals in 2016.
1. Rohit Sharma – 49 wins in 62 T20Is
Rohit Sharma took over as India’s T20I captain in 2021 after Virat Kohli stepped down after a disastrous 2021 T20 World Cup campaign. Within a short span of time, he became one of India’s most successful captains in the white-ball formats.
He captained India in 62 T20Is and won 49 matches. Rohit lost 12 T20Is, and 1 ended in a tie, giving the Mumbaikar a winning percentage of 79.03%.
His biggest achievement was leading India to their second T20 World Cup title and ending their ICC trophy drought. After winning the title in 2024, Rohit also retired from T20Is, ending a fairytale career.
Who was the first captain to lead India in T20Is?
Virender Sehwag had led India in their first-ever T20I in 2006 against South Africa.
Who has led the Indian team in T20Is the most?
MS Dhoni has captained India in T20Is the most, 72 times.
Who has won the most games as India’s T20I captain?
Rohit Sharma has won 49 games as India captain in T20Is- the most.
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