The Indian Premier League (IPL) is the biggest T20 league in the world, attracting top overseas players, along with all Indian players. The inaugural season of the IPL was played in 2008, and was an instant hit among the cricket fans.
The idea of the overseas players rubbing shoulders with Indian players proved to be eye-boggling for the cricket fraternity. The sponsors and stakeholders supported the league, which would soon become one of the most-watched sporting leagues in the world. As a result, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and franchise owners continue their cooperation and take the league to newer heights.
With such high competitiveness, the captains of all IPL teams bear the pressure to deliver the goods to the stakeholders. In a closely-contested games between teams, the captain’s key role is to maintain his calm and help his teams prevail over the opponents.
In this article, we will explore the players who played most IPL matches as captain in the tournament’s history.
Table of Contents
Most matches as a captain in IPL
Here’s the list of the players who have played the most matches as a captain in IPL history.
| Captain | Number of Matches | Team |
| MS Dhoni | 221 | Chennai Super Kings |
| Rohit Sharma | 152 | Mumbai Indians |
| Virat Kohli | 143 | Royal Challengers Bangalore |
| Gautam Gambhir | 129 | Kolkata Knight Riders |
| David Warner | 79 | Sunrisers Hyderabad/ Delhi Capitals |
| Adam Gilchrist | 74 | Sunrisers Hyderabad |
| Shreyas Iyer | 55 | Delhi Capitals/Kolkata Knight Riders |
| Shane Warne | 55 | Rajasthan Royals |
| Virender Sehwag | 55 | Delhi Capitals |
| Sachin Tendulkar | 53 | Lucknow Super Giants |
| KL Rahul | 53 | Punjab Kings/Lucknow Super Giants |
First captain to win 100 matches in IPL
It is no less feat when the captain manages to secure a successful stint in the cash-rich league. The ability to thrive under the pressure and expectations of the fans and stakeholders are a key trait for any successful captain. With globalization of T20 cricket, the bowlers as well as batters have become innovative, but they require the acumen and quick decision making of their captain to successfully execute the plan and help their team in winning games.
One such captain is MS Dhoni, who has been leading the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) since the inaugural season in 2008. In fact, Dhoni was awarded the leadership role after his successful run as a captain in 2007 T20 World Cup. At such an early point of his career, Dhoni showed calmness in crunch moments and his decisions paved the way for India’s title victory. Hence, he became a national hero after the victory, and was picked up by CSK as their icon player.
In the inaugural season, MS Dhoni-led CSK reached the final, but failed by a whisker against Rajasthan Royals in the final. Nevertheless, in the 2010 season, the Chennai-based franchise again reached the final after beating 2009 champions Deccan Chargers by 38 runs. They posted 168 on the board, riding on Suresh Raina’s half-century. Then, Shadab Jakati picked two wickets to help CSK record their first title victory in the IPL.
Certainly, CSK retained their strong squad for the next season as well. They secured nine victories in 14 games of the league stage to be positioned second on the table. They comfortably beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by 58 runs in the final, courtesy of Murali Vijay and Ravichandran Ashwin’s impressive performances. The skipper MS Dhoni helped CSK to become the first team to defend their IPL title.
However, the next two editions witnessed them falling short against Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians respectively. Then, in 2014, they reached the playoffs as well, but could not progress through to the final. In the 2015 season, CSK again emerged as the runner-up to champion Mumbai Indians.
The unfortunate fixing allegations proved to be costly for the franchise, as they were banned for two years. Nevertheless, CSK bought their past players along with retaining their skipper MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina and Ravindra Jadeja. They tried their best to put the core players back into the roster. The plethora of emotions were witnessed when the team returned to their den, MA Chidambaram Stadium, fondly known as Chepauk. Also, an emotional MS Dhoni longed for the love of fans and wanted to win the title for the team.
The wish of Dhoni and fans was turning true as they won nine games in the league stage to qualify for the playoffs. Then, in the final, they faced Sunrisers Hyderabad, and conceded 178 on the board. In reply, Shane Watson delivered his best IPL knock of 117* off 57 balls to bring the third trophy to their cabinet. The franchise certainly asserted their dominance once again.
In the 2019 season, they continued their glorious run by winning nine out of 14 league matches. However, they faced their arch-rivals Mumbai Indians, who were also in red-hot form ahead of the final. CSK did well with the ball, as MI could only post a total of 149 on the board. However, MI fought back hard to secure a thrilling victory by one run.
In the 2020 season, Super Kings beat Mumbai in another closely-contested fixture by chasing down the target of 163. Ambati Rayudu top-scored with 71 off 48, while Lungi Ngidi picked three wickets. Interestingly, this was the 100th win of the franchise in the Indian Premier League history. Speaking of the first player to win 100 matches in ipl as captain, Dhoni has achieved that feat in April 2019. With over 200 fixtures under his belt, he is also the one who played most IPL matches as a captain.
In the 2021 season, CSK openers Ruturaj Gaikwad and Faf du Plessis were magical with their strokeplay and consistency to help the team in registering their fourth IPL title. However, CSK finished at the penultimate position in the points table with only four victories in 14 appearances in the 2022 season.
They have started the 2023 season well, and are likely to seal the playoffs spot.
Until now, CSK have prevailed on 129 occasions in 221 games under the leadership of MS Dhoni. The 41-year-old is the only leader to have recorded more than 100 victories in the biggest T20 league.
Player spotlight: MS Dhoni
When it came to forming a squad with fighting abilities, Sourav Ganguly was the master of the art. He helped to lay a stable platform for the Indian team in the years to come. MS Dhoni got a somewhat experienced squad and maintained his dominance and helped the team to prevail on crunch moments. Dhoni’s calmness and out of the box thinking in crunch moments with players’ fighting attitude developed by Ganguly paved the way for India to dominate the world cricket.
However, when it comes to the Indian Premier League, none of them have come close to MS Dhoni’s caliber. The Chennai Super Kings side have been the most consistent performer in the history of the cash-rich league. They have been part of the final for a record number of nine times, which depict their imperious performances. The leader behind the success of CSK as a team, is Dhoni, who has been at the heart of IPL.
With most victories (129) in the IPL history, Dhoni is certainly the key figure in the tournament. Often looking calm in most moments, the ‘Chase master’ was at his aggressive best in the IPL 2010 game against Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings). It was the last league match, and CSK had to win the game to qualify for the playoffs. Batting first, KXIP posted 192 on the board. It was a huge task on those days to chase down scores of around 200. Subramaniam Badrinath hit a fifty and provided a chance for CSK to have a shot at the playoffs spot.
In the end, things became tricky, but Dhoni took it deep, with 16 runs required off the last over. He slammed a four and two lusty sixes against Irfan Pathan to seal the top four spot for the team. In the end, Dhoni said, “Your franchise pays so much money for you, you should at least make the semi-finals.” Then, CSK emerged as the winner of the season as well after beating Mumbai Indians by 22 runs.
Such was the influence of Dhoni and the strong core team that CSK managed to secure the title in 2011 as well. Although title victories dried up, the team maintained their good run in the tournament. It was an emotional season in 2018, when CSK returned to the IPL after two years of suspension and lifted the title after seven long years. In fact, it was the best season as a batter for MS Dhoni, as he smashed 455 runs at an average of 75.83 and a strike rate of 150.66, with three fifties.
With much consistency and power-packed performances, the Chennai-based franchise added a fourth IPL trophy in 2021 as well. Although Dhoni’s contribution has been diminishing, he has promoted youngsters in crucial situations, and will be a better player for the franchise in the coming years. In the 2023 season as well, he has been smashing balls all around the park, but has given preference to the younger players, who will be serving CSK for the next 3-5 years.
Overall, MS Dhoni has over 5,000 runs in the IPL, with 24 fifties. Although it may be his last year with the franchise, his legacy will remain strong. The ‘Captain Cool’ is likely to be seen donning Yellow jersey as a mentor from the next year. Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see whether Dhoni plays for another season, or calls time on his illustrious IPL career.
Player spotlight: Rohit Sharma
The talented batter Rohit Sharma has been playing in the Indian Premier League since 2008. In the first three seasons, he plied his trade for the Deccan Chargers. In the 2009 season, Sharma emerged as the best all-round performer for the side with contributions of 362 runs and 11 wickets. The handy off-spinner managed to secure a hat-trick as well, while returning with figures of 4/6 against Mumbai Indians.
Impressed by his consistency and ball-striking abilities, the Mumbai-based franchise snapped Rohit ahead of the 2011 edition. It was the 2013 season, which certainly changed the life of ‘Hitman’. Mid-way through the season, the Mumbai lad was awarded the captaincy due to his good form.
Scoring over 500 runs at an average of 38.42, Rohit led the team to their first IPL title victory in the 2013 season. They posted 148 on the board, with Kieron Pollard scoring 60*. Then, Chennai Super Kings were restricted to 125. Rohit’s glorious run continued, as the Mumbai-lad hit a half-century, against CSK in the final and helped MI to register a title victory in the 2015 season.
In the 2017 final, Sharma’s quick decision making and bowlers rotation helped the team to script a thrilling victory by one run against Rising Pune Supergiant. Another fantastic finish saw MI prevailing in the 2019 season final. MI put up 149 on the board, with Kieron Pollard scoring 41. Then, Jasprit Bumrah was terrific, while Lasith Malinga calmed his nerves to win the title trophy. The next season witnessed Rohit Sharma becoming the only second captain to defend the IPL title. In the final, Rohit slammed 68 off 51 to lead MI to an easy five-wicket victory over Delhi Capitals.
Although the last couple of years have not been great for Rohit Sharma in the IPL, he is now the captain across all formats for the Indian team. Positivity and a good form will be key for MI as they have been doing well in the IPL 2023. If Rohit fires, they are likely to seal the playoffs spot after a hiatus of three years.
So far, Rohit has garnered 84 wins in 153 games as a captain in the IPL since 2013. Although he has most (5) IPL title victories, MS Dhoni ranks above him in terms of wins (129).
In fact, Rohit crossed the milestone of 6,000 runs in the cash-rich league this season. with over 40 half-centuries and a ton. The MI captain will look to be proficient with his performance to bring back glory days for Mumbai Indians.
Conclusion
To sum it up, the captains usually play the key role to take the team forward with their innovative thinking and managing their players in a proficient manner. The successful team also have a captain, who has a clear communication with their players, and lays a proper strategy, which often helps them calm their nerves and ace crunch moments.
So far, MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma have been largely successful with their stint as a captain for Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians respectively. The key quality about them has been the ability to take right decisions at the right time, while also maintaining their calmness on most occasions. Most importantly, the players of their teams also helped them emerge successful at the end of the day.
The next to fall in this line is Gautam Gambhir, who led Kolkata Knight Riders to title victories in 2012 and 2014. The Never Say die attitude, aggressiveness and strong team helped Gambhir and KKR to become the third-most successful IPL team.
Although Virat Kohli has been the finest batter in the IPL, he fell short during his time as a RCB captain, due to his wrong decision making, and the failure of players during pressure situations.
It all depends on the players’ ability to handle pressure and improve his game as the season progresses. The captain needs to have an open mind, and search for alternative strategies to keep their team in the hunt during pressure games.
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