List of Indian captains to win ICC trophy

MS Dhoni has won most ICC titles as Indian captain.

The Indian cricket team has one of the richest history in the sport. India played their first ever cricket match in 1932, and over the past few decades, they have been dominating world cricket, both home and away.

One of the key reasons for India’s success in this period has been their great captains. From Kapil Dev to Rohit Sharma, some great captains have led the country on the cricket field.

Overall, four different Indian captains have led the country to six ICC titles. In this article, we will talk about the Indian captains who have won an ICC trophy.

List of Indian captains to win ICC trophy

1 – Kapil Dev – ICC Cricket World Cup (1983)

The first time an Indian captain led the country to a World Cup title was in 1983 when not many had given a chance to the Kapil Dev-led Indian team. But, they went on to stun the world to win the trophy, including defeating the mighty West Indies in the final.

India went on to become only the second team to win the ICC Cricket World Cup, as West Indies had won the previous two editions, in 1975 and 1979. Captain Kapil Dev himself played an important role with both bat and ball in India’s title triumph at Lord’s.

2 – Sourav Ganguly – ICC Champions Trophy (2002) (Joint-winners)

Sourav Ganguly is one the most decorated Indian captains, who pulled the Indian team out of the trauma following the match-fixing scandal in the late 90s. In the early 2000s, Ganguly built a core of players, who later helped India win the 2011 World Cup.

But, Ganguly himself also managed to get his hands on an ICC trophy. Ganguly took India to their second ICC title when they ended the ICC Champions Trophy 2002 as joint-winners with Sri Lanka. The final was washed out on both its scheduled day and the reserve day. Therefore, both teams were declared as joint winners.

3. MS Dhoni – ICC T20 World Cup (2007)

After being knocked out from the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 in the group stage, the Indian selectors sent a young team with MS Dhoni being appointed as the new skipper for the ICC T20 World Cup 2007 in South Africa.

Not many gave a young Indian team chance to win the title over teams like Australia, South Africa and Pakistan. However, India stunned everyone when they went on to win the title. Dhoni showed the world his prowess as a leader. India beat England, South Africa, Australia, and Pakistan in the tournament to win the inaugural ICC T20 World Cup.

Dhoni’s move to give Joginder Sharma the last over in the final over veteran Harbhajan Singh is one of the greatest decisions made by a captain in the game.

4 – MS Dhoni – ICC Cricket World Cup (2011)

After winning the ICC T20 World Cup 2007, the next ICC trophy for India came in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, which was co-hosted by India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, with the final in Mumbai.

India lost only one game in the tournament, against South Africa. India’s quality and experience proved enough for them to bounce back from that loss and go on to win the title. Captain MS Dhoni himself sealed the trophy with a six, giving the world one of the most iconic moments in all sports. Dhoni became the first Indian captain to win two ICC trophies.

5 – MS Dhoni – ICC Champions Trophy (2013)

MS Dhoni is arguably the best Indian captain, and certainly the most successful one having won three different ICC trophies, the only skipper in the history of cricket to do so.

In 2013, Dhoni marched India to the ICC Champions Trophy triumph, during which India won all their matches, including defeating hosts England in the final. Shikhar Dhawan and Ravindra Jadeja were India’s stars in the tournament with bat and ball respectively.

6 – Rohit Sharma – ICC T20 World Cup (2024)

Rohit Sharma made history in 2024 when he took India to their second T20 World Cup title. Rohit led the team pretty well, and India finished the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 without a defeat. They beat South Africa by seven runs in the final, and Rohit became the second Indian captain to win the T20 title after MS Dhoni. He was phenomenal with the bowling changes, calm head, and tactics throughout the tournament. It was the third final under Rohit in 12 months, and he finally led the team to a victory.

With this, Rohit Sharma became fourth Indian captain to win an ICC title.

(List updated till 29th June, 2024)

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