Ranking the 5 best men's captains in world cricket right now ft. Rohit Sharma, Pat Cummins
Captaincy has become a more refined art with the game's progression. The leaders need to find ways to counter the rapid evolution of how the opposition perceives games, and manage the pool of players in the dressing room at the same time. The only constant when it comes to the role when compared to the past is the weight that is behind it.
While the frenzy T20 format banks on skill and execution more so than intricate tactics and leadership, the role of the captain increases with the format's length. Red-ball captaincy is still one of the most challenging roles that a cricketer can take over the course of their career, because to maintain the game over the course of five days and manage the ebbs and flows, one need a whole different level of expertise.
The number of young captains have increased in the era of workload management and franchise cricket. There is an interesting blend of a few veteran leaders coupled with names coming into the leadership scene and making an impact straight away.
On that note, let us take a look at the five best men's captains in world cricket right now.
#1 Pat Cummins
Cummins' venture into captaincy might have been unceremonious, but the events since that, have been ceremonious to the highest degree, with Australia's trophy cabinet being evidence. The pacer was not seen as a captaincy candidate over the course of his career, but has shunned the notion of pacers not being ideal captains with his performance as a leader.
Taking over from Tim Paine ahead of a high-profile Ashes series, Cummins not only retained the urn in the most dominant manner possible, but also guided the nation to subcontinent success, culminating in the World Test Championship (WTC).
He shone in his role as white-ball skipper too, guiding Australia to the 2023 ODI World Cup title in India, that too after successive losses to begin with. The pacer is far from the most aggressive captain, but his ability to back his own decisions have been exceptional, making him one of the best leaders in world cricket.
#2 Rohit Sharma
The Hitman's captaincy credentials were evident well before he took over from Virat Kohli gradually across formats. Rohit Sharma excelled in the Indian Premier League (IPL), guiding the Mumbai Indians to five titles, and led India admirably on sporadic occasions as well.
Rohit had several challenges as India skipper, but his biggest contribution might be resetting their approach in white-ball cricket while leading by an example. The revamp eventually led India to end their dreaded decade-long trophy drought by winning the 2024 T20 World Cup.
Furthermore, under Rohit's regime, India have taken their bench strength to a whole other level. He has ensured that they remain one of the most dominant sides in world cricket.
#3 Ben Stokes
The Durham cricketer instilled life into England Test cricket, perhaps even reviving it alongside Brendom McCullum. The all-rounder took over as England red-ball captain from Joe Root when they were at rock bottom. Changing the way with which the traditional format is concerned, he has turned it around with his philosophy.
While England still await glory in the World Test Championship (WTC) scheme of things, there are a lot of positives to take away. He has been the voice that England's red-ball side needed for a long while. The skipper has gone onto inspire the team to play fearless cricket, almost reclaim the urn from the Aussies, and ensure dominance at home.
He has also identified the right candidates whenever necessary, and his radical decisions on and off the field have paid off more often than not.
#4 Hasmatullah Shahidi
The Afghanistan ODI and Test skipper has been a driving force behind the team's recent success. Since taking over as ODI captain in 2022, he has steered the team in the right direction with Jonathan Trott also playing a huge role behind the scenes.
Afghanistan's continued rise as a team has got a lot to do with Shahidi's leadership. He guided the team to series wins over South Africa and Bangladesh, while handing huge scares to Pakistan and Sri Lanka in recent times.
His crowning achievement so far, remains the 2023 ODI World Cup, where Afghanistan finished fifth. They defeated the likes of Pakistan, England, and Sri Lanka over the course of the campaign, and even had Australia on the ropes.
Shahidi will lead Afghanistan in their first appearance in the Champions Trophy next year.
#5 Temba Bavuma
Although questions may be raised over his place in the side when it comes to his batting returns, there are not many arguments that can be made against his leadership.
He relinquished his T20 captaincy largely due to his batting form, but is still strong in the other formats. The 34-year-old has emerged to be a shrewd captain, keen on making life difficult for the opposition.
Bavuma led the team into the 2023 ODI World Cup semi-finals after a memorable campaign in India, and is yet to lose a Test as a captain since taking over from Elgar last year. If he can keep up his batting form, then South Africa can benefit a lot from his presence as the skipper.