T20 World Cup 2021: 5 captains with the most wins in T20 international cricket
Captaining a team in the T20 international format is one of the most challenging jobs in cricket. The format demands the skipper to make quick and effective decisions. Even a minor error can have a big impact on a T20 match's result.
Over the years, some great players have led their teams in the T20 international arena. Notably, T20 stars like Shahid Afridi, Brendon McCullum, Kieron Pollard, Lasith Malinga, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, AB de Villiers, Chris Gayle and Angelo Mathews have a had a win percentage of less than 50 as T20I captains.
This statistic proves that a good T20 player cannot be a good T20 captain. The following five players have achieved mastery in T20 captaincy. They have registered the most wins as captains in T20 international cricket history.
5. Sarfaraz Ahmed, Pakistan - 29 wins
Former Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed has been the nation's most successful T20 international captain. The Men in Green were very successful under Ahmed in the shortest format of the game.
Ahmed led the Pakistan cricket team in 37 matches, recording 29 wins and only eight defeats. The veteran wicket-keeper is part of the Pakistani squad for the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 but is yet to play a match in the mega event.
4. Virat Kohli, India - 31 wins
Clinical effort 🇮🇳🏏
#TeamIndia https://t.co/K2aODg9rRO
Virat Kohli became the fourth captain to record 30 T20 international victories when India beat Afghanistan in the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 earlier this week. Kohli took his tally to 31 wins by leading India to a win against Scotland.
The right-handed batter has captained India in a total of 48 matches so far, registering 31 victories. Kohli has already announced that he will step down as the Indian T20I captain after the T20 World Cup 2021.
3. Asghar Afghan, Afghanistan - 42 wins
Former Afghanistan captain Asghar Afghan announced his retirement after the T20 World Cup 2021 match against Namibia. Asghar will go down as one of the most successful captains in Afghanistan's cricket history.
Playing under his captaincy, Afghanistan emerged victorious in 42 out of 51 matches. Asghar had an impressive win percentage of 81.73 as the Afghanistan T20I skipper.
2. MS Dhoni, India - 42 wins
Another Asian name to feature on this list is former Indian captain MS Dhoni. The wicket-keeper batter was the first captain in cricket history to win the ICC T20 World Cup trophy.
Dhoni led India in 72 matches from 2007 to 2016, recording 42 wins and 28 defeats. Two of the games did not produce a result. He ended his captaincy career with a win percentage of around 60 in T20I matches.
1. Eoin Morgan, England - 43 wins
Eoin Morgan became the most successful captain in T20 international cricket history when England defeated Sri Lanka in the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 earlier this month. Morgan overtook both Asghar Afghan and MS Dhoni to become number one.
The England captain has an opportunity to celebrate this milestone in grand fashion by guiding his team to the ICC T20 World Cup title. Morgan will be in action tonight, leading England in their last Super 12 fixture against South Africa.