| Name | Matches | Career | Wins | Losses | Win Percentage |
| Virat Kohli | 213 | 2013-2022 | 135 | 60 | 63.38% |
| MS Dhoni | 332 | 2007-2018 | 178 | 120 | 53.61% |
| Sourav Ganguly | 195 | 1991-2005 | 97 | 78 | 49.74% |
| Rahul Dravid | 104 | 2000-2007 | 50 | 39 | 48.07% |
| Mohammad Azharuddin | 221 | 1990-1999 | 104 | 90 | 47.05% |
| Kapil Dev | 108 | 1982-1987 | 43 | 40 | 39.81% |
| D. Vengsarkar | 28 | 1987-1989 | 10 | 15 | 35.17% |
| Sachin Tendulkar | 98 | 1996-2000 | 27 | 52 | 27.55% |
| Sunil Gavaskar | 84 | 1976-1985 | 23 | 29 | 27.39% |
| Nawab Pataudi | 40 | 1962-1975 | 9 | 19 | 22.5% |
1. Virat Kohli – The Indian batting stalwart might not have won an International trophy as Captain but he still finds himself as the most successful captain that Indian cricket has ever seen. The aggressive cricketer introduced a fearless brand of cricket and maintained a winning percentage of 63.38%. Under his captaincy India played 211 matches and came out victorious on 134 occasions across all formats. Kohli led the Blues in 95 ODI matches winning 65, won 30 out of 50 T20Is and excelled in 39 out of 66 Test matches. The 33-year-old is also India’s most successful Test skipper and helped the team reach the inaugural ICC World Test Championship final at Lords but eventually crashed out against New Zealand in June 2021. Moreover, Virat Kohli never lost a Test match in India as captain – winning 11 out of 11 Test series. When he took over as the Test captain, India was languishing in the 7th spot in Test world rankings and by the time he gave up on his captaincy, India ranked as the No. 1 Test team. In terms of centuries as captain, Kohli scored 20 centuries in the longest format and in ODI’s he scored whopping 5449 runs in 91 innings, averaging at 72.85 and bagged 21 centuries. In T20s, Kohli is the second most successful captain with 30 wins and also scored the fastest 1000 runs as captain.
2. MS Dhoni – Also known as Captain Cool, Dhoni is the most successful captain in terms of winning ICC silverwares. In 2011, Dhoni struck the winning 6 to deliver the ICC 50-over world cup after 28 years. He also played a major role behind India’s success in the inaugural T20 world cup in 2007 as it was the Blues’ first world cup triumph since 1983. Two years after winning the 2011 Cricket world cup, Dhoni’s side won India’s first ever ICC champions trophy beating England in the Final. He had a winning percentage of 53.61% across all formats and cemented his position as the most decorated captain in the world of cricket. Under his captaincy, India whitewashed Australia for the first time in Tests and in 2009 he took India to the summit of the World test rankings. He also has the most wins in World cup with 14 wins and during his tenure India lost only two fixtures in the tournament – against South Africa in 2011 and Australia in 2015 World cup Semi-final. Under Dhoni’s captaincy, India won 110 out of 200 ODIs. In T20Is, he has the best record as captain with 41 wins in 72 matches. MSD is without a doubt revolutionized t20 cricket in India and he will always be remembered as one of the greats.
3. Sourav Ganguly – The Prince of Calcutta had a winning percentage of 49.74% and he has the second best captaincy record outside of India as he has won 28 matches with Virat Kohli holding the number 1 position winning 29 matches overseas. Ganguly is the only captain to win a Test series in Pakistan in 2003-04 and also led the Indian side to clinch the famous Natwest trophy in 2002. He won 21 matches, lost 13 and drew 15 out of 49 Tests. In the 50-over format, Ganguly led India towards 76 victories and 65 losses in 146 fixtures. He led the India side to the finals of the 2003 Cricket world cup where they lost to Australia in the finals, however, he is the only captain to score 3 centuries in World cup as well as in the Champions trophy in 2004. Ganguly will be remembered for that iconic moment at Lord’s after winning an ODI series against England, which engraved his name into the history books.
4. Rahul Dravid – One of the most technically sound Batsman, “The Wall” Rahul Dravid is the forth most successful Captain team India has ever had. He Captained the Indian side in only 104 matches and ended his tenure with a winning percentage of 48.07%. He took over as the captain following Sourave Ganguly’s rift with Gregg Chapell. From 2003 to 2007, he captained India in 25 Tests, winning eight and losing six. One of the highlights of Dravid’s Test captaincy was winning the 2006 West Indies Test series. India have not won a Test series in the Caribbean since 1971 before to this tour. After the first three Tests were tied, India fought valiantly to win the fourth. Dravid scored 81 and 68 runs in the series decider and finished the series with 497 runs. Another of Dravid’s high points as a captain was winning the 2007 Test series in England. Dravid led India towards 42 victories in 79 ODIs. One of the lowest points in his captaincy career came in 2007 when India were eliminated from the group stages.
5. Mohammad Azharuddin – Mohammed Azharuddin is the fifth-most successful Indian captain across all formats, with a win percentage of 47.05 in 221 games. He captained India in 47 Tests, winning 14 and losing 14. However, his record as an overseas Test captain was dismal; India won 13 of their 14 home Tests under Azharuddin. Although his leadership was questioned, Azharuddin was a productive batting throughout his captaincy. He scored 2856 runs at an average of nearly 44, including 905 runs from outside the country. He helped India win 90 ODIs in 174 matches and he was also the highest scorer in ODIs during his retirement with 9378 runs.
Also Read – MS Dhoni gives a piece of advice to Hardik Pandya and Rishabh Pant ahead of ICC T20 World cup
