India has had many captains across three formats, and “best” depends on whether you count wins, trophies or matches led. Using ESPNcricinfo’s career captaincy records and the ICC trophies won under each captain, the picture is clear: MS Dhoni has the strongest overall case, while Rohit Sharma and Shreyas Iyer’s recent results give the list a more current shape. This article was updated in October 2026.
Results by format
Tests. Virat Kohli led India in 68 Tests, winning 40 and losing 17. MS Dhoni led in 60 Tests, winning 27 and losing 18. Sourav Ganguly led in 49 Tests, winning 21 and losing 13. Rohit Sharma led in 24 Tests, winning 12 and losing 9, and retired from Test cricket in May 2025. Shubman Gill is the current Test captain.
ODIs. Dhoni led in 200 ODIs, winning 110 and losing 74. Mohammad Azharuddin led in 174, winning 90 and losing 76. Ganguly led in 147, winning 76 and losing 66. Kohli led in 95, winning 65 and losing 27. Rohit led in 56, winning 42 and losing 12. Gill is the current ODI captain.
T20 Internationals. Dhoni led in 72, winning 41 and losing 28. Rohit led in 62, winning 49 and losing 12. Suryakumar Yadav led in 52, winning 40 and losing 8. Kohli led in 50, winning 30 and losing 16. Shreyas Iyer has been the T20I captain since June 2026.
ICC trophies
Kapil Dev lifted the 1983 World Cup. Ganguly shared the 2002 Champions Trophy with Sri Lanka. Dhoni won the 2007 T20 World Cup, the 2011 ODI World Cup and the 2013 Champions Trophy, making him the only captain to win all three white-ball ICC titles. Rohit Sharma captained India to the 2024 T20 World Cup and the 2025 Champions Trophy. Suryakumar Yadav captained India to the 2026 T20 World Cup, with the final against New Zealand on 8 March 2026 won by 96 runs.
Why Dhoni still ranks first
Dhoni’s record across the three formats, across 332 matches as captain, is the most complete. He is the only captain to win the T20 World Cup, the ODI World Cup and the Champions Trophy, and he has won more ODIs as captain than anyone else. Rohit’s recent T20 World Cup and Champions Trophy wins make him the closest modern challenger.
Frequently asked questions
Who is India’s current Test captain? Shubman Gill.
Who is India’s current T20I captain? Shreyas Iyer, since June 2026.
Which Indian captain has won the most ICC trophies? Dhoni, with three, followed by Rohit Sharma with two.
Figures are taken from ESPNcricinfo’s captaincy records and checked against match results as of October 2026.
