In the 149-year history of cricket, few captains have made a name for themselves by emerging successful time and again in ICC (International Cricket Council) tournaments. The first-ever men’s ICC event was held way back in 1975 when the global cricketing body came up with the idea of organising the ODI World Cup.
The tournament sparked massive interest from fans across the globe as everyone kept themselves up to date with the latest cricket news. Over the years, the ICC went on to introduce more global tournaments, such as the ICC knockout cup, which is now known as the ICC Champions Trophy.
The introduction of T20 cricket paved the way for the T20 World Cup in 2007, which skyrocketed the sport’s popularity as fans eagerly waited for match predictions from experts ahead of every game.
The ICC later introduced the World Test Championship in 2019, making teams compete for the ultimate prize in all three formats of the game. While most captains have struggled to win ICC tournaments as it requires the team to be at the top of its game throughout the campaign, others understood the formula of winning quite early, guiding their teams to multiple podium finishes.
Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting is the most successful men’s captain in the history of ICC events, having guided his team to four ICC trophy victories. Ponting first led Australia to the World Cup triumph in 2003 and then followed it up with the Champions Trophy victory in 2006.
He again guided his side to a successful defence of their World Cup title in 2007 as well as the Champions Trophy crown in 2009. Legendary India captain MS Dhoni is the second most successful men’s captain in ICC events, having guided India to victory in the maiden T20 World Cup in 2007. He later helped to end the nation’s 28-year drought for a World Cup win with a Player of the Match performance in the final, scoring 91* (79).
Dhoni also guided a young Indian side to the Champions Trophy triumph in 2013. Former West Indies captain Clive Lloyd also finds his name in the list, having guided his team to back-to-back World Cup victories in 1975 and 1979. Apart from them, West Indies’ Darren Sammy, Australia’s Pat Cummins and India’s Rohit Sharma have also guided their countries to two ICC Trophy victories.