The 13th edition of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup is less than 30 days away, and the excitement is gradually starting to build up.
The upcoming edition will be an opportunity for the captains of 10 teams to join the elite list of men who have led their country to World Cup glory.
List of World Cup winning captains
Year | Team | Captain |
1975 | West Indies | Clive Lloyd |
1979 | West Indies | Clive Lloyd |
1983 | India | Kapil Dev |
1987 | Australia | Alan Border |
1992 | Pakistan | Imran Khan |
1996 | Sri Lanka | Arjuna Ranatunga |
1999 | Australia | Steve Waugh |
2003 | Australia | Ricky Ponting |
2007 | Australia | Ricky Ponting |
2011 | India | MS Dhoni |
2015 | Australia | Michael Clarke |
2019 | England | Eoin Morgan |
In the past 12 editions, 10 different men have led their country to WC triumph, two of them did it twice.
The first couple of World Cups were won by the Clive Lloyd-led all-conquering West Indies.
Click here for Indian Cricket World Cup 2023 Squad.
In 1983, legendary all-rounder Kapil Dev scripted history as he led under-dogs India to WC glory against the defending champions at Lord's.
The year 1987 saw the World Cup make its way to Asia, with India and Pakistan acting as co-hosts.
And, just like in 1983, a less-fancied Australian side-led by Alan Border shocked the world as they beat rivals England in front of 100,000 spectators at the Eden Gardens to claim the title.
The next two editions saw Asian teams like Pakistan and Sri Lanka claim their maiden title. While the Imran Khan-inspired Pakistan beat England at the MCG in the final in 1992, Sri Lanka defeated former champions Australia to script an underdog story for the ages under the inspirational leadership of Arjuna Ranatunga.
The year 1999 saw the Steven Waugh-led Australia become the 2nd team to win 2 World Cups. This started an era of Australian dominance as the Ricky Ponting-led world champions went on to defend their title twice (in 2003 & 2007) without even dropping a game.
Click here for South Africa Cricket World Cup 2023 Squad.
The dominance finally ended in 2011 as the MS Dhoni-led India dumped the world champions out of the WC in the quarter-finals, before going on to win their 2nd title. Dhoni became the first captain to lead a host nation to World Cup glory on its soil.
Since then, the trend has continued with Australia's Michael Clarke and England's Eoin Morgan leading their respective sides to World Cup titles at the MCG and Lord's in 2015 and 2019 respectively.