The five most successful IPL captains by win percentage

This season there are many new faces in terms of captaincy. Ravichandran Ashwin has taken over for the Kings XI Punjab, Dinesh Karthik is the new captain of the Kolkata Knight Riders and Kane Williamson is in charge of the Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Karthik has already come under heavy criticism for his poor management of bowlers in KKR's last game against the Chennai Super Kings. He gave Vinay Kumar the last over which turned out to be a disastrous move. Some captains have had significantly more success though.

This article pays tribute to the best captains in IPL history. Indeed, it looks at the five most successful IPL captains by win percentages. For captains to be included in this list, they have to have captained over 20 matches.

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#5. Anil Kumble - 57.69%

India's all-time highest Test wicket-taker, Anil Kumble, has an IPL win percentage of 57.69% as captain. Kumble skippered the Royal Challengers Bangalore 26 times and won 15 of his matches in charge. This makes him the most successful captain in the Royal Challengers Bangalore's history. In comparison, Virat Kohli's win percentage as captain is just 46.34% - showing just how good a captain Kumble was.

During his tenure in IPL cricket, Kumble enjoyed plenty of success with the ball and holds the third-best bowling figures in the history of the tournament with his 5/5 against the Rajasthan Royals in 2009.

#4. MS Dhoni - 58.33%

MS Dhoni is arguably India's most successful captain of all-time

Fan favourite MS Dhoni is surprisingly low on this list. The Chennai Super Kings stalwart, who played for the Rising Pune Supergiant during CSK's suspension, has captained the most matches in the history of the IPL.

Dhoni has captained on an incredible 144 occasions, with Gautam Gambhir second on that list after being captain in 123 matches. This pays testament to Dhoni's ability as a captain and his cricketing brain. He has enjoyed success as a captain as well, as he took Chennai to back-to-back titles in 2010 and 2011.

Dhoni has won 84 out of the 144 matches he has captained, giving him a handy win percentage of 58.33%. That is the second highest out of players currently captaining in this year's IPL. A rather fun fact is that Dhoni has won the toss 72 times as captain, which is exactly 50% of the time.

#3. Sachin Tendulkar - 58.82%

Sachin Tendulkar is the second most successful captain of the Mumbai Indians

The "Little Master" sits at number three on this list. It seems as if there is no record that Sachin Tendulkar does not hold, as he proved that he is also a tactical mastermind in IPL cricket.

Tendulkar was a one franchise player and remained loyal to the Mumbai Indians during the entirety of his IPL career. He captained the men in blue for 51 matches and won 30 of them.

While Tendulkar never managed to lead his side to an IPL trophy, he still remains one of the most successful captains in the history of the tournament and is the second most successful Mumbai Indians captain of all time.

#2. Rohit Sharma - 60.53%

Rohit Sharma has captained Mumbai to three IPL titles

Mumbai Indians legend Rohit Sharma has a win percentage of an impressive 60.53%, which puts him at second on this list. Sharma has captained the Mumbai Indians to three IPL titles, no other franchise has won as many.

Across 76 matches, Rohit has won 46 while captain and lost the other 30. Out of all the captains on this list, Rohit has had the most success in winning the toss as he wins it 52.63% of the time.

There is no doubt that he is very lucky to have such a talented squad of players at his disposal and he has certainly got the best out of them. His IPL captaincy performances have earned him a spot as India's limited-overs captain in the absence of Virat Kohli.

#1. Steve Smith - 69.57%

Steve Smith is the only overseas player to feature on this list

Ironically, Steve Smith is the most successful IPL captain by win percentage. Under his tenure, his franchises have won 69.57% of their matches. Smith has captained 23 IPL matches and has won an impressive 16 matches and losing just the seven.

What is even more impressive is that he has only won 9 tosses (39.13% of the time), meaning that his sides have usually won their matches after losing the toss. This shows just how versatile a captain he is. He has played for three franchises over the years: the Pune Warriors India, Rising Pune Supergiant and the Rajasthan Royals.

Indeed, he was meant to be captaining the Rajasthan Royals this season but the sandpaper gate affair meant that he was banned from taking part. The Royals have struggled without him as they suffered a humiliating defeat in their opening match.