Ranking the top 5 T20I captains of all time

Cricket's shortest format offers little margin for error. One wayward over or misplaced field can turn a match. If you strip the attributes of a top T20I captain down to sharp tactics, supporting match-winners and cool nerves in the heat of action, that is where cricketing geniuses come in. Here are the top five men's T20I captains in history (minimum 25 as captain).

1. Rohit Sharma (India) – 80.06 % (50 wins in 62 matches)

Rohit's emergence as a white‑ball great has been meteoric. Since becoming fully in charge late in 2017, he's guided India to 50 wins from 62 T20Is—an 80.06 % win ratio that's head and shoulders above anyone else with 25+ games on the board. Under his steady guidance, India has overcome challenging away tours.

Aside from bilateral series, Rohit has also performed on the grandest of stages, taking India to another ICC T20 World Cup in 2024, after waiting for a long time of 17 years. He joined the elite list of players to have won the Golden Title twice.

2. Darren Sammy (West Indies) - 53.7% (27 wins out of 47 matches)

Few captains have presided over as stirring a renaissance as Sammy did over the West Indies. His 53.7 % victory rate hides the larger significance of two T20 World Cup victories (2012, 2016), making him the sole captain to win that trophy twice. Sammy also had outstanding away victories in Australia and England, shaping a side full of big‑hitting panache and fast‑bowling punch.

He added the West Indian finishing and dominance that the 70s West Indies employed on cricket and swept the game, particularly in the World Cups of T20. 

3. Asghar Afghan (Afghanistan) – 80.77 % (42 out of 52 matches)

When Asghar Afghan assumed responsibility in 2015, Afghanistan had yet to get going in T20Is. During the following six years, he captained them in 52 matches, and his team won 42 games, recording the best winning percentage by any long‑term skipper.

His composed presence enabled explosive players such as Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi to thrive, and during his tenure, Afghanistan moved from minnows to a team that consistently beat higher‑rated teams on subcontinental surfaces and in the Middle East. His own emergence as a captain resulted in the emergence of the whole team as well.

4. MS Dhoni (India) – 56.94 % (41 wins in 72 matches)

Long before win percentages became a talking point, Dhoni set the template for T20 leadership. Dhoni’s place is cemented by pioneering India’s approach to T20 cricket. He captained India in 72 matches from 2007 to 2016, winning the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007 and pioneering the art of the finish.

His 57 % success rate could seem humble by current bloated statistics, but it was attained under the pressure of creating solutions in pinch‑hit overs, death‑over specialist turns and cool under-pressure batting that each team now attempts to copy.

5. Virat Kohli (India) – 60.00 % (30 victories from 50 matches)

Kohli assumed leadership in 2017, with a side rich in talent but poor in finals wins. In his first 50 games in charge, he won 30, including series victories against Sri Lanka (3–0 in 2017) and Australia (2–1 in 2016–17).

His tough field placings and support for match finishers such as Hardik Pandya made India a chase specialist team, changes that raised his win percentage over that of almost all his past captains. He influenced the game more than the figures can quantify and report.

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