There have been many legendary Indian cricketers over these years who have left their stamp on this game. However, not all these great players turned out to be successful captains of India. Captaincy is considered one of the most difficult tasks, as it comes along with huge pressure and expectations from the public and media. Not every player can efficiently cope with the responsibilities of captainship and also perform well in the field. One example would be Sachin Tendulkar, who well is known to the world as one of the greatest cricketers of all time. Following this, Tendulkar was made captain of the Indian Cricket team in August 1996, but his term at the job was really short. He resigned from the job in 2000 after the disappointing Home Test series loss to South Africa. He did not make the same difference as a captain that he had with his batting. More pressure, hence, came to bear upon him and it affected field performance. Whereas many Indian cricketers seemed to have immense success as players, very few of them repeated that as captains. Captaining a national team is a tough task, and not every great player could turn out to be a great captain, too. Top 5 Most Successful Captain in India Sr. No Name of the Captain Matches Win Loss Win % 1 Rohit Sharma 122 92 26 75.4 2 Virat Kohli 213 135 60 63.38 3 MS Dhoni 332 178 120 53.61 4 Sourav Ganguly 196 97 79 49.48 5 Rahul Dravid 104 50 39 48.07 Rohit Sharma Image Source: ESPNcricinfo Matches as captain: 122 Won: 92 Lost: 26 Win %: 75.4 First, he was made the vice-captain and Virat Kohli's deputy; then, he led as captain in the absence of Virat Kohli. Following the exit of Kohli as captain in 2022, Rohit was confirmed as one of the permanent captains of the Indian cricket team. Under his captaincy, India has reached the final of the 2023 ODI World Cup, the semis of the 2022 T20 World Cup, and the final of the World Test Championship in 2021-23. He led India to two times victories in the Asia Cup and drew a Test Series against South Africa, emulating MS Dhoni. He was appointed captain of the team in 2017 while his full-time appointment came in 2022. His 92nd victory as the captain of India came against England in the semi-final of T20 World Cup 2024. With the victory in the T20 World Cup 2024, Rohit Sharma has etched his legacy as one of India's most successful captains. Virat Kohli Image Source: India Today Matches as captain: 213 Won: 135 Lost: 60 Win %: 63.38 Virat Kohli became the Test captain in December 2014, and then, a few months later, amidst January 2017, Kohli finally became the full-time captain across all formats. Under his leadership, Kohli led the Indian team to success at home and overseas, including some historic ones where they won their first-ever Test series in Australia. He is known for his attacking style of play and never gives up on a game looking to end in a draw. Kohli also had success in limited-overs cricket, taking series wins in South Africa and all SENA countries. Under his captaincy, India reached the final of the 2017 Champions Trophy, the semifinals of the 2019 ODI World Cup, and the final of the 2019-21 World Test Championship. His captaincy tenure ended after he lost a Test series in South Africa in January 2022, under whose leadership India won 135 out of 213 matches. Also Read | Who Claims the Trophy if the WTC Final Ends in a Draw? MS Dhoni Image Source: Sportz Craazy Matches as a captain: 332 Wins: 178 Loss: 120 Win%: 53.61 One of India's best captains is MS Dhoni, and it is largely due to his calm and composed nature. He started with his captaincy in the 2007 T20 World Cup, in which he was able to lead India to a win. He carried on forward with the success winning the 2011 ODI World Cup and later the 2013 Champions Trophy as captain for India. His captaincy was not all about winning the ICC trophies but also in taking India to several memorable victories. During his tenure from 2007 to 2016, he led India to 178 wins in 332 matches in all formats of the game. He is also considered as one of the most successful captains not only in India, but also in the world cricket. Sourav Ganguly Image Source: Al Jazeera Matches as a captain: 196 Wins: 97 Loss: 79 Win%: 49.48 In 2001, after Sachin Tendulkar's resignation, Sourav Ganguly shouldered the responsibility of captainship of the Indian cricket team. He is known for his fearless and aggressive brand of cricket; Ganguly led India to some great victories, including the Natwest final against England in 2005. Under his captaincy, India reached the final of the World Cup in 2003 and the Champions Trophy in 2000 and 2002. India lost to New Zealand in 2000 and shared the trophy with Sri Lanka in 2002 due to rain. These were captained by Ganguly between 1999 and 2005, making him victorious in 97 out of 195 matches across formats. Rahul Dravid Image Source: Cric Fit Most Matches as a captain: 104 Wins: 50 Loss: 39 Win%: 48.07 Rahul Dravid was the captain in 104 matches, with a win percentage of 48.07 percent. He took over the reins during a turbulent time where there was an ongoing conflict between Greg Chappell and Ganguly. He captained the team in 25 Tests from the 2003-2007 period, winning eight of them and losing six. The other highlight of his Test captaincy was the victory in the 2006 Test series against West Indies, which ended a 35-year drought without a series victory in the Caribbean since India's 1971 series win there. In ODIs, Dravid led India to 42 wins in 79 games, to be placed fifth amongst Indian captains. However, probably the most embarrassing moment for him as an ODI captain was getting knocked out early from a World Cup this year around right after their runners-up finish in the previous edition. Also Read | IPL Winners and Runner Ups (2008 - 2024): Who Emerged Victorious in Each Season?