ODI Cricket is a format that has been there for more than 50 years. It is the second oldest format of cricket. The ODI World Cup is the most important ICC tournament that happens every Four Years. There have been some great captains that have led in ODI Cricket. From the incredible team of the West Indies to the Australian domination.

Let’s look at the Top 10 Greatest ODI Captains of all time

1) Ricky Ponting – Australia

There is no doubt as to who is the greatest ODI captain of all time. It is none other than Ricky Ponting. The man under whom Australia won the 2003 and 2007 World Cups. He has led Australia in 230 Matches. This is the most number of matches that any player has captained a team in ODIs. He won an extraordinary 165 of these Matches and had a win % of 71.73. He lost 51 Matches as Australia captain and he had a loss % of 22.17. Ricky Ponting is the gold standard when it comes to captaincy in ODI Cricket. Players such as Michael Clarke, Andrew Symonds, Brett Lee, Adam Gilchrist all became legends under Ricky Ponting. He himself was one of the best ODI batsmen in his era.

2) Clive Lloyd – West Indies

Clive Lloyd has to be in the Top 2 in this list. The captain under whom West Indies won the 1975 and 1979 ODI World Cups. He was instrumental in making the West Indies a superpower. He led West Indies In 84 Matches in ODI Cricket. He won a staggering 64 of these Matches. His win % was 76.19 which showed that there was no team like the West Indies. He lost 18 Matches and his loss % was 21.42. Clive Lloyd was also the runner up in the 1983 World Cup Final. He has players such as Viv Richards, Michael Holding, Joel Garner, Malcolm Marshall, Colin Croft who won Matches on their own.

3) Allan Border – Australia

Australia has seen some truly great captains in ODI Cricket. Ricky Ponting was the greatest but Allan Border was not far behind. He was instrumental in winning the 1987 World Cup which was the first for Australia. He led Australia in 178 ODIs. Allan Border won 107 Matches as captain. He had a win % of 60.11. He lost 67 Matches and his loss % was 37.64. Allan Border was responsible for Steve Waugh, Ricky Ponting, Shane Warne etc. This was the start of Aussie domination.

4) MS Dhoni – India

The talisman from India is number 4 in this list. He has been the most successful ODI captain in the history of Indian cricket. He has led in 200 ODI Matches for India. He won 110 of these Matches as captain and he had a win % of 55. He lost 74 Matches as Indian captain in ODI Cricket. His loss % was 37. MS Dhoni was the winning Captain under whom India won the 2011 World Cup. He was also the captain that led India to the 2013 Champions Trophy. Under him the likes of Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan all became great ODI players.

5) Eoin Morgan – England

The transformation of England cricket will be credited to one man and that man is Eoin Morgan. Very few captains have completely changed the perception of a nation and after the 2015 World Cup, Eoin Morgan changed the squad and he brought in new attacking players. The result was he was the first ever captain to lead England to an ODI World Cup win. He led England in 126 Matches. He won 76 of these Matches. His win % was 60.31. Eoin Morgan lost 40 Matches as England captain. His loss % was 31.74. Players like Jos Buttler, Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Moeen Ali all blossomed under Eoin Morgan.

6) Imran Khan – Pakistan

The greatest captain ever produced by Pakistan cricket and the man who in 1992 made an entire nation happy. Imran Khan was a leader and he was a one man show. He ran Pakistan cricket. Imran Khan led Pakistan in 139 Matches. He won 75 of these Matches as captain. His win % was 53.95. He lost 59 Matches and his loss % was 42.44. Imran Khan was also one of the greatest all rounders of all time. Players like Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Inzamam Ul Haq all were under Imran Khan.

7) Arjuna Ranatunga – Sri Lanka

The greatest captain in the history of Sri Lankan cricket. Arjuna Ranatunga won the 1996 World Cup for Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka have reached the final of the 2007 and 2011 World Cup Final as well. Arjuna Ranatunga captained Sri Lanka in 193 ODI Matches. He won 89 of these Matches and had a win % of 46.11. He lost 95 Matches as Sri Lanka captain. His loss % was 49.22. He gave an identity to Sri Lankan cricket. Players like Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Muttiah Muralidaran, Sanath Jayasuriya all became great players and they all had their formative years under Arjuna Ranatunga.

8) Graeme Smith – South Africa

This is the first captain in this list who is not a World Cup winning captain . Graeme Smith has done such a good job as captain of South Africa that it will be unfair to ignore him. He made South African cricket top contenders in ICC tournaments. He led South Africa in 150 ODIs. He won 92 of these Matches and he had a win % of 61.33. He lost 51 Matches and his loss % was 34. Under Graeme Smith, AB De Villiers, Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, Faf Du Plessis, Hashim Amla got their opportunity and they have become legends.

9) Sourav Ganguly – India

Sourav Ganguly was the captain who made India great again in ODI Cricket. For the longest time after winning the 1983 World Cup, India were not able to repeat the same level of performance. In 2000, Sourav Ganguly was appointed and Indian cricket started going forward. He led India in 147 ODIs. He won 76 Matches as Captain. His win % was 51.70. He also lost 66 Matches as captain. His loss % was 44.89. He was the captain when India reached the final of the 2003 World Cup. He gave India players such as Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Ashish Nehra, Zaheer Khan, MS Dhoni, Gautam Gambhir who would be the players who would win India the 2011 World Cup.

10) Kane Williamson – New Zealand

At number 10 is the greatest New Zealand captain of all time. There have been a lot of very good captains like Stephen Fleming and Brendon McCullum. Kane Williamson was unfortunate in the 2019 World Cup Final and he led New Zealand to the 2023 World Cup semi final. He has led New Zealand in 91 ODIs. He has won 46 ODIs and he has a win % of 50.54. He has also lost 40 Matches as captain. His loss % was 43.95. Kane Williamson was the captain till the end of the 2023 World Cup.

Table: Best ODI Captains of all time - Stats

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