3 Active Captains With Most Test Wins

Australian team with the 2021-23 WTC mace (x.com)Australian team with the 2021-23 WTC mace (x.com)

The role of a captain, especially in Test cricket, is pivotal to a team’s success. The longest format of the game demands not just skill but also strategic foresight and unwavering resolve. Yet, certain captains often tend to stand apart from the rest by consistently leading their respective nations to unmitigated success.

Here at OneCricket, we take a look at three Test captains among active players who have thrived with the highest number of wins.

3. Rohit Sharma - 10 wins in 16 matches

Rohit Sharma - 10 wins in 16 matches (x.com)Rohit Sharma - 10 wins in 16 matches (x.com)

Rohit Sharma took over Team India captaincy following Virat Kohli’s premature resignation in early 2022. The legendary opening batter started off with an emphatic 2-0 series win over Sri Lanka at home. The following year in March 2023, he guided the Indian team to a remarkable 2-1 home series win over ‘Border-Gavaskar Trophy’ rivals Australia.

A couple of months later at The Oval, Sharma’s captaincy tenure received its first major jolt in the form of a crushing defeat to Australia in the 2021-23 WTC final. His battered and bruised Indian troops regrouped in West Indies with a 1-0 series win the very next month, and stunned South Africa in South Africa with a one-all result. 

Moreover, Rohit Sharma’s Indian team registered four successive wins over England at home to register a 4-1 series triumph in March this year. All in all, Sharma’s Test captaincy profile features 10 wins in just 16 matches with an astonishing win percentage of 62.50.

2. Pat Cummins - 17 wins in 28 matches

Pat Cummins - 17 wins in 28 matches (x.com)Pat Cummins - 17 wins in 28 matches (x.com)

Ever since his ascension to becoming Australia’s Test captain in late-2021, talismanic fast bowler Pat Cummins has led his team to 17 wins and just six defeats in 28 matches. He started off by leading Australia to an Ashes win at home and an away series win against Pakistan. Pat Cummins and co. also drew a series in Sri Lanka, and secured big wins over South Africa and West Indies during the 2022-23 home season.

As leader of a travelling group to India in early 2023, he lost the Border-Gavaskar Trophy to the hosts. However, Cummins’ troops reached the pinnacle of Test glory by winning the 2021-23 WTC final and by levelling the Ashes in England, both within the space of just two months. 

Under his guidance, Australia further justified their WTC tag by blanking Pakistan 3-0 at home. A shock defeat to West Indies was followed by a 2-0 triumph in New Zealand in early 2024 as Cummins’ Test captaincy profile is glittered with a staggering win percentage of 60.71.

1. Ben Stokes - 17 wins in 27 matches

Ben Stokes - 17 wins in 27 matches (x.com)Ben Stokes - 17 wins in 27 matches (x.com)

Ben Stokes was appointed as England captain in July 2020 on an interim basis in the absence of Joe Root. The dashing all-rounder was handed complete control of the national team in mid-2022 after Root stepped down from the role. 

Taking over England cricket concurrently with head coach Brendon McCullum, Stokes led his team to 10 raging wins over the next 11 Tests played out against New Zealand, India, South Africa and Pakistan. The away series against Pakistan, in particular, immortalized Ben Stokes’ immaculate no-holds-barred approach as a leader.

Under the moniker of ‘BazBall’, the English team employed an aggressive course with the bat, began setting up bold declaration calls and also became the undisputed masters of pulling off sensational run-chase heists. 

In 2023, Stokes-led England drew a Test series in New Zealand, levelled the Ashes at home, and won a solitary Test against continental rivals Ireland. However, the tried-and-tested ‘BazBallers’ met its Achilles heel on turning Indian surfaces in early 2024, where they were consigned to a crushing 1-4 defeat by the hosts.

Ben Stokes and co. returned back to their winning ways during the home season of 2024 as they registered four successive wins over West Indies and Sri Lanka. Overall, England have registered 17 wins in just 27 matches under the leadership of the charismatic all-rounder.