10 most successful captains in the history of the IPL

4. David Warner

David Warner

David Warner’s first major role as captain in the IPL came when he was tasked to lead Sunrisers Hyderabad in their 2015 IPL campaign. This was a bold move considering the fact that Warner hadn’t had much leadership experience and was a bit of a wildcard, especially with his form.

As expected, SRH performed poorly and found themselves sitting at 6th position in the points table. This lit a fire under Warner and he returned in 2016 determined to lift the coveted trophy. The Australian batsman was in sublime form with the bat and was the second highest run scorer in the tournament. He literally led the charge as Sunrisers Hyderabad marched on to clinch their first IPL title.

2017 was another good year for Warner as SRH finished in third place in the points table. Warner was once again amongst the leading run scorers, but sadly it wasn’t enough as SRH were eliminated in the playoffs.

Warner was banned by BCCI from participating in the IPL the following year.

3. Gautam Gambhir

Gautam Gambhir

Gautam Gambhir didn’t rise to prominence as captain until he moved to Kolkata Knight Riders. Out of seven seasons that he played for KKR, he led them to the playoffs five times and even helped them win the IPL trophy twice (2012 and 2014).

Clearly, Gambhir has been instrumental to KKR’s success over the years and has helped rejuvenate their IPL journey.

Following a successful run at KKR, Gauti returned to play for Delhi Capitals in 2018. However, he couldn’t replicate his success and soon decided to step down as captain and took up a mentorship role within the franchise.

This leaves his captaincy record at 71 wins and 57 losses in 129 games making him one of the most successful captains in the history of the IPL.