Rajat Patidar lifted his second Indian Premier League (IPL) title as a captain on May 31, 2026. He achieved this feat with the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), as the franchise bagged back-to-back IPL crowns for the first time in their history.
Patidar joins an elite list of top cricketers to secure at least two (2) IPL trophies as team leaders in the competition’s history. Let’s see the exclusive list of top players to achieve this remarkable feat and other impressive details about most-successful IPL skipper so far.
1. Mahendra Singh (MS) Dhoni – 5 IPL Trophies as Captain
MS Dhoni is one of India’s greatest wicketkeepers at international and franchise level. He set the record for most back-to-back IPL titles as captain (IPL 2010 and IPL 2011) before waiting 7 seasons for his next title win (IPL 2018). Dhoni bagged another title in 2021 before winning his fifth crown as IPL skipper in 2023.
He is the second IPL captain to secure five (5) titles and is tied in overall rankings in the category.
2. Rohit Sharma – 5 IPL Trophies as Captain
Mumbai Indians (MI) opener Rohit Sharma is another legendary figure in IPL and international cricket history. He is the first cricket captain to secure five IPL titles after guiding MI to victorious seasons, with his latest triumph at IPL 2020. MI are yet to recapture the spark that saw them dominate IPL cricket for several seasons; however, Sharma’s status as a legend in this competition stays intact.
3. Gautam Gambhir – 2 IPL Trophies as Captain
Current Team India coach Gautam Gambhir ranks third among IPL captains with the most titles wins in history. Gambhir secured two victorious seasons for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in 2012 and 2014 to become one of the competition’s all-time great captains.
The Purple and Gold contingent had to wait exactly one decade after Gambhir’s exploits to secure another IPL crown in 2024.
4. Rajat Patidar – 2 IPL Trophies as Captain
RCB skipper Rajat Patidar is the second IPL captain to secure back-to-back trophies in this competition (after MS Dhoni). His sights will be set on a three-peat if RCB decide to retain him ahead of IPL 2027.
How Many Captains So Far in IPL History?
Seventy-five (75) players have been team captains in at least one game in IPL history, but only a handful of these cricketers have gone on to win titles.
Captains with the Most Match Wins in IPL History
| Rank | Captain | Matches | Won | Lost | Win % | Titles |
| 1 | MS Dhoni | 235 | 136 | 97 | 57.87 | 5 |
| 2 | Rohit Sharma | 158 | 87 | 67 | 55.06 | 5 |
| 3 | Gautam Gambhir | 129 | 71 | 57 | 55.03 | 2 |
| 4 | Virat Kohli | 143 | 66 | 70 | 46.15 | 0 |
| 5 | Shreyas Iyer | 101 | 55 | 41 | 54.45 | 1 |
| 6 | David Warner | 83 | 40 | 41 | 48.19 | 1 |
| 7 | Hardik Pandya | 70 | 37 | 33 | 52.85 | 1 |
| 8 | Adam Gilchrist | 74 | 35 | 39 | 47.29 | 1 |
| 9 | Rishabh Pant | 71 | 33 | 36 | 46.47 | 0 |
| 10 | Sanju Samson | 67 | 33 | 32 | 49.25 | 0 |
Top IPL Captains With at Least 1 Title
| Rank | Captain | Matches | Won | Lost | Win % | Titles |
| 1 | MS Dhoni | 235 | 136 | 97 | 57.87 | 5 |
| 2 | Rohit Sharma | 158 | 87 | 67 | 55.06 | 5 |
| 3 | Gautam Gambhir | 129 | 71 | 57 | 55.03 | 2 |
| 4 | Shreyas Iyer | 101 | 55 | 41 | 54.45 | 1 |
| 5 | David Warner | 83 | 40 | 41 | 48.19 | 1 |
| 6 | Hardik Pandya | 70 | 37 | 33 | 52.85 | 1 |
| 7 | Adam Gilchrist | 74 | 35 | 39 | 47.29 | 1 |
Top 10 IPL Captains with the Most Matches Played in History
| Rank | Captain | Matches | Won | Lost | Win % |
| 1 | MS Dhoni | 235 | 136 | 97 | 57.87 |
| 2 | Rohit Sharma | 158 | 87 | 67 | 55.06 |
| 3 | Virat Kohli | 143 | 66 | 70 | 46.15 |
| 4 | Gautam Gambhir | 129 | 71 | 57 | 55.03 |
| 5 | Shreyas Iyer | 101 | 55 | 41 | 54.45 |
| 6 | David Warner | 83 | 40 | 41 | 48.19 |
| 7 | Adam Gilchrist | 74 | 35 | 39 | 47.29 |
| 8 | Rishabh Pant | 71 | 33 | 36 | 46.47 |
| 9 | Hardik Pandya | 70 | 37 | 33 | 52.85 |
| 10 | Sanju Samson | 67 | 33 | 32 | 49.25 |
IPL Captains with Most Match Wins Without an IPL Title
| Rank | Captain | Wins | Matches | Lost | Win % |
| 1 | Virat Kohli | 66 | 143 | 70 | 46.15 |
| 2 | Rishabh Pant | 33 | 71 | 36 | 46.47 |
| 3 | Sanju Samson | 33 | 67 | 32 | 49.25 |
| 4 | K. L. Rahul | 31 | 64 | 31 | 48.43 |
| 5 | Sachin Tendulkar | 30 | 51 | 21 | 58.82 |
| 6 | Virender Sehwag | 28 | 53 | 24 | 52.83 |
| 7 | Steven Smith | 25 | 43 | 17 | 58.13 |
| 8 | Shubman Gill | 24 | 43 | 19 | 55.81 |
| 9 | Rahul Dravid | 22 | 48 | 26 | 45.83 |
| 10 | Kane Williamson | 22 | 46 | 23 | 47.83 |
