Top 5 highest run scorers captaining India in ODIs

Rohit Sharma, the stand-in India captain, lead his team brilliantly in the Asia Cup 2018, helping India to their 7th Asia Cup title. He was mightily impressive, not only with his leadership skills but also with his batting display, scoring 317 runs in the tournament at a staggering average of 158.5.

The "Hitman" has captained India in eight ODIs till date and has won seven of them. He has also scored 534 runs in those ODIs at an impressive average of 106.8 which also includes a double-hundred. Although he is still new to captaincy, it wouldn't be wrong to say that captaincy brings the best out of Rohit Sharma. Among the 24 Indian ODI captains, he currently stands at 9th place in terms of the career runs scored as captain.

We look at the top five highest run scorers for India as ODI captains. It is remarkable that each of these five individuals (except one) have a better batting average as captains compared to their career batting average.

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#5 Rahul Dravid, 2658 runs

Rahul Dravid's 63-ball 92 was his memorable knock as a captain

Rahul Dravid scored 2658 runs as Indian captain at an impressive average of 42, which is better than his career average of 39. "The Wall" lead India in 79 games, winning 42 of those. Although the 2007 World Cup was a low point in Dravid's captaincy career, his career captaincy numbers suggest that he was a very good captain, who could have gone on to achieve bigger things for India.

#4 Virat Kohli, 3059 runs

Virat Kohli amassed 558 runs in the 5-1 series victory in South Africa

One name that appears in almost every batting record for India is Virat Kohli. The incumbent Indian captain has already amassed 3059 runs in 52 ODIs as captain, winning 39 of them. He averages a staggering 82 as captain, which is way above his already impressive career average of 58.

Earlier this year Kohli lead India to their first ever ODI series win in South Africa, scoring 558 runs, the most by a player in a bilateral ODI series. Virat Kohli is still growing as a leader in ODI cricket, but his track record suggests that he is sure to be successful. And if that happens then surely he will get close to the number one name in this list.

#3 Sourav Ganguly, 5082 runs

Saurav Ganguly made a 43-ball 60 in the Natwest Trophy final in 2002

Sourav Ganguly, who started the revival of Indian cricket back in 2000, is rightly at number three in this list. Dada was phenomenal as a leader with his acute cricketing acumen. Being an opener he lead the team from the front with his attacking stroke-play, winning many a games for India, including the famous Natwest Trophy Final in 2002 ,when he blasted a 43-ball 60 which paved way for the two young guns to overhaul a massive target of 325.

Ganguly lead India in 142 ODIs, scoring 5082 runs at an average of 38, including 11 hundreds.

#2 Mohammad Azharuddin, 5239 runs

Azharuddin captained India in 3 World Cups

Mohammad Azharuddin, who lead India in 174 ODIs back in the 90s, scored 5239 runs at an average of 39, better than his career average of just under 37. The elegant Hyderabadi batsman lead India in three World Cups between 1990 and 1999. Although India did not win any ICC events under him, his overall ODI win percentage of 54 and the amount of runs he scored captaining the side firmly puts him among the all-time great Indian captains.

He could have gone on to be the first player to captain his side in 200 ODIs, had it not been for the match-fixing scandal in 2000, which caused his exclusion from the Indian team.

#1 Mahendra Singh Dhoni, 6641 runs

MS Dhoni during his knock of 91* in 2011 World Cup Final

It is no surprise that MS Dhoni, who recently captained India for the 200th time in his career, stands top in this list. Dhoni has amassed 6641 runs captaining India at a phenomenal average of 53.5 which includes 6 centuries.

Although his finishing abilities have been on the decline off late, he was the number one finisher for India during a long part of his career. He used to soak the pressure for his team, thereby helping India win many a major tournaments, the 2011 World Cup and 2013 Champions Trophy being the two most coveted trophies in his cabinet.

A stat that is worth mentioning is Dhoni has scored 65% of his career runs as a captain.