Being a captain is really important in any game. But not everyone can do it well. Some great players have tried but couldn’t succeed as captains. Being a captain is tough, especially in T20I cricket, where matches are short and unpredictable.
In this format, anything can happen in just 20 overs. A good captain can lead their team through tough moments and win matches. In this article, we’ll discuss the most successful T20I cricket captains.
10. Kane Williamson (New Zealand) – 37 wins
New Zealand hasn’t won a big T20I championship yet, but they’ve been pretty steady in the last few ICC T20 World Cups. Their captain, Kane Williamson, is a big part of that. He not only leads the team well but also performs great with the bat. Under his leadership, New Zealand has won 37 out of 71 matches, lost 32, had one match with no result, and one tie. They even made it to the final of the 2021 T20 World Cup with Williamson leading them.
9. Gerhard Erasmus (Namibia) – 38 wins:
Gerhard Erasmus, the experienced captain from Namibia, is also included in this list. He’s been playing for the team since 2019 and became the captain that same year. Since then, he’s been leading the T20I side. During his captaincy, Namibia played 56 matches, winning 38 and losing 18. Also, Namibia has participated in all three T20 World Cup editions since 2021 under his leadership.
8. Ahmed Faiz (Malaysia) – 39 wins:
Ahmed Faiz started leading Malaysia in 2019, which was his first year as captain. He’s a natural leader who also led the U19 team in 2008. As captain, he’s led Malaysia in 67 T20 matches and won 39 of them. They lost 25 games, tied one, and two matches had no results. Under his leadership, Malaysia scored one of their highest T20 scores, reaching 268 runs.
7. Aaron Finch (Australia) – 40 wins:
Australia has been really good at cricket in one-day and test matches. They’ve won all the big prizes in these games. But it took them a long time, 14 years, to win their first T20 World Cup. They finally won it in 2021, with Aaron Finch as their captain. He’s done really well, leading Australia in 76 T20 matches. They’ve won 40 times, lost 32 times, tied once, and had three games with no result.
6. MS Dhoni (India) – 41 wins:
MS Dhoni was the first captain to win the T20 World Cup for his country in 2021. He started leading India in T20 cricket in 2007 during the first T20 World Cup. He continued as captain until 2016. During his captaincy, India played 72 T20 matches, winning 41, losing 28, tying one, and two matches ended without a result.
5. Rohit Sharma (India) – 41 wins:
Rohit Sharma has been leading Team India in T20I cricket on and off since 2017, but he became India’s full time captain in 2021. Overall, he has led India in 54 T20I matches and won 41 of them, for an excellent win ratio of 3.416. India have only lost 12 and tied one game under him. He led India to the semi-finals of the 2021 T20 World Cup.
4. Eoin Morgan (England) – 42 wins:
Since 2015, Eoin Morgan became the captain of England’s white-ball cricket team. He led them to win lots of games, even the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup. He did well in T20I cricket too. He captained England in 72 matches and won 42 of them. They lost 27 games, tied two, and had one game with no result. He stopped being the captain after a game in 2022.
3. Asghar Afghan (Afghanistan) – 42 wins:
Asghar Afghan was the leader of Afghanistan’s cricket team. He led them from 2015 to 2021. During his time, Afghanistan won 42 out of 52 matches they played in the T20I format, which is a really good record. They only lost nine times, and tied one game. Asghar Afghan is one of the top captains in T20I cricket history.
2. Brian Masaba (Uganda) – 44 wins:
Brian Masaba did something amazing when he helped Uganda get into their first ever ICC tournament. Uganda is now the 20th team to qualify for the ICC T20 World Cup 2024. Brian Masaba has been leading his country since 2021. Under his leadership, Uganda won 44 out of 56 matches, lost nine, and had three matches that didn’t have a result. That’s a really good win rate of 4.888.
1. Babar Azam (Pakistan) – 45 wins:
Babar Azam is the best T20I captains. He’s been leading Pakistan since 2019. Pakistan got to the semi-finals of the 2021 T20 World Cup and the final of the 2022 one with him as captain. He has led Pakistan in 78 matches. They won 45, lost 26, and had 7 matches where there was no result.
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