As the IPL season comes to a close, we take a look at the captains who have played the most matches in the tournament’s history.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Mahendra Singh Dhoni is an Indian cricketer who captained the Indian national team in limited-overs cricket from 2007 to 2016 and in Test cricket from 2008 to 2014.
He is one of the most successful captains in limited-overs cricket, having won three IPL titles, two Champions League Twenty20 titles, one-day internationals (ODIs) and Tests. Under his captaincy, India won the 2007 ICC World Twenty20, the 2010 and 2016 Asia Cups, the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup and the 2013 Champions Trophy.
A right-handed middle-order batsman and wicket-keeper, Dhoni is one of the highest run scorers in ODIs with more than 10,000 runs scored and holds a batting average in excess of 50. He has also been lauded for his skills as a wicket-keeper.
Dhoni made his ODI debut in December 2004 against Bangladesh and played his first Test a year later against Sri Lanka.
He was appointed the captain of the Indian team in September 2007 for a tri-series in Kenya that also featured Pakistan. In June 2008, he led India to their first bilateral ODI series win in Sri Lanka in 15 years.
The following year, Dhoni took over as captain for all formats after Rahul Dravid resigned from his post due to India’s poor performance at the ICC Champions Trophy tournament. In 2010, under Dhoni’s captaincy, India won their first ever bilateral ODI series on
Rohit Sharma
Rohit Sharma is an Indian cricketer who has captained the Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for a number of seasons. He is one of the most successful captains in the history of the IPL, winning the tournament three times.
Rohit made his debut for the Mumbai Indians in 2008 and was appointed captain of the team in 2013. He has since led the Mumbai Indians to victory in 2013, 2015 and 2017. Rohit has also been successful as a batsman in the IPL, scoring over 4,000 runs in 158 matches.
Gautam Gambhir
Gautam Gambhir played the most IPL matches as captain, leading the team in 59 matches. He has a successful record as captain, winning 32 of those matches. Under his leadership, the team reached the playoffs in every season except for one. He is a popular and respected leader, known for his calm demeanor and tactical acumen.
Virat Kohli
In the Indian Premier League (IPL), Virat Kohli has played a total of 148 matches as captain, the most by any player in the history of the tournament. He is also the only captain to have led his team to victory in more than 100 IPL matches.
Kohli made his debut as captain of the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in 2013 and led the team to its first ever IPL title in 2016. He has also captained the Indian national cricket team in ODIs and T20Is. Under his captaincy, India won the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy and became the first team to win all three ICC limited-overs tournaments.
Kohli is widely regarded as one of the best batsmen in the world and is currently ranked No.1 in both Test and ODI batting rankings. He has an impressive Test batting average of 53.40 and a phenomenal ODI batting average of 59.33. In 2019, he became the fastest batsman to score 10,000 runs in ODIs and also holds the record for most centuries in both Test and ODI cricket
Suresh Raina
Suresh Raina is a world-renowned cricket player, and is especially known for his contributions to the Indian Premier League (IPL). He has played a total of 134 IPL matches as captain, which is more than any other player in the history of the league.
Raina made his debut for the Chennai Super Kings in the inaugural edition of the IPL in 2008, and was appointed as captain of the team in 2010. He led the side to victory in the 2010 and 2011 seasons, becoming one of only two players to win back-to-back IPL titles.
He continued to lead the Super Kings until 2014, when he was replaced by MS Dhoni. In 2015, he was bought by the Delhi Daredevils, but was released by the franchise after just one season.
In 2016, Raina joined forces with Gujarat Lions, and captained them for two seasons before they were discontinued ahead of the 2018 IPL season.
Currently, Raina is not attached to any particular IPL team, but remains an active member of the cricketing community nonetheless. His experience and expertise are highly valued, and it is safe to say that he has cemented his place as one of the greatest captains in IPL history.