Former Australian cricket team skipper Ricky Ponting is the most successful ODI captain. During his 10-year tenure as a captain, the Aussie won 165 of his 230 matches while losing just 51 times.
Here, we take a look at the most successful ODI captains in the history of cricket.
Ricky Ponting: 165 ODI wins
Ricky Ponting is Australia’s longest-serving captain in the 50-over format. The 2003 World Cup winner first took the reigns in 2002 and continued doing so until 2012 while leading the team in 230 ODIs. During the tenure, Ponting won 165 matches as a captain while losing 51 games and finished with an impressive win percentage of 76.14.
This is the best win percentage among all the other players with at least 100 matches as ODI captain.
MS Dhoni - 110 ODI wins
Former Indian cricket team captain MS Dhoni is the second most successful ODI captain. During his 11 year period as an ODI skipper between 2007-2018, Dhoni guided India to the 2011 World Cup, while winning 110 of his 200 ODI matches. Dhoni ended his 50-over career with a win percentage of 59.52 as a captain.
Allan Border - 107 ODI wins
For someone who holds the record for most consecutive Test matches as a captain (93), it comes as no surprise that Allan Border is the third most successful ODI captain in the history of the game. Since being announced as a skipper in 1985, Border went on to lead Australia to 107 wins in 178 ODIs, thus finishing with a win percentage of 61.42. During the nine year period between 1985 to 1994, Australia lost just 67 ODIs under Border’s leadership.
Hansie Cronje - 99 ODI wins
Regarded as one of the finest players of his generation, former South Africa skipper Hansie Cronje left his legacy as the fourth most successful ODI captain. During his seven-year stint as captain of the one-day side, Cronje led the Proteas to 99 wins from 138 ODIs. South Africa lost just 35 matches during the time as he ended his leadership with a win percentage of 73.70.
Stephen Fleming - 98 ODI wins
New Zealand’s Stephen Fleming with the second most ODI matches as a captain (218) sits fifth in the list of most successful ODI captains. During his 10-year stint that spanned between 1997-2007, Fleming guided the Kiwis to 98 ODI wins. However, New Zealand also lost as many as 108 ODI matches during the period resulting in Fleming finishing with a win percentage of 48.04.
Most successful ODI captains: Know them all
| Player | Team | Matches | Won | Lost | Won% |
| Ricky Ponting | Australia | 230 | 165 | 51 | 76.14 |
| MS Dhoni | India | 200 | 110 | 74 | 59.52 |
| Allan Border | Australia | 178 | 107 | 67 | 61.42 |
| Hansie Cronje | South Africa | 138 | 99 | 35 | 73.70 |
| Stephen Fleming | New Zealand | 218 | 98 | 106 | 48.04 |
| Graeme Smith | South Africa | 150 | 92 | 51 | 64.23 |
| Mohammad Azharuddin | India | 174 | 90 | 76 | 54.16 |
| Arjuna Ranatunga | Sri Lanka | 193 | 89 | 95 | 48.37 |
| Sourav Ganguly | India | 147 | 76 | 66 | 53.52 |
| Imran Khan | Pakistan | 139 | 75 | 59 | 55.92 |
Featured photo: AFP / Rob Elliot
