Ever since the first official T20 match played on 13th June 2003, the format has grown by leaps and bounds. Such has been its impact that now it has become the most favoured format of the gentlemen&#8217;s game. It&#8217;s fast-paced action and twists and turns have amused the fans around the globe. That&#8217;s why several T20 leagues have become the most followed cricketing tournaments.

Along with its entertainment, the T20 cricket has also given new superstars of the game. Some of them with the bat and some of them with the ball. And apart from them, the format has also given quite a few iconic leaders to the cricketing fraternity.

Though the game is of only 20 overs, to become a champion side, a team needs a quality leader. Don&#8217;t believe me, just ask teams like Chennai Super Kings and <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/twitter-reactions-trinbago-knight-riders-script-history-and-win-fourth-cpl-title-by-defeating-st-lucia-zouks-in-the-final/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Trinbago Knight Riders </a>who are two of the most successful T20 franchises. Hence, it is fair to say that it is only a captain who shapes a T20 team and brings championships to the locker room.

Here is the list of Top 10 T20 captains based on the number of trophies won:

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-442950" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Kieron-Pollard.jpg" alt="Kieron Pollard" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-442950" class="wp-caption-text">Kieron Pollard. (Photo Source: Getty Images)</figcaption>

There is something about Kieron Pollard and his swagger, which just keeps growing and growing. Whether it is his nonchalant striking of the ball or his ability to win games for his team, he is only getting better with time like the wine stored in a cellar. The <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/10-facts-ian-bishop/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Trinidadian </a>is an individual who has made some telling contributions to the modern-day game.

In particular, the all-rounder has been a torchbearer of the T20 format. He has played a record number of 516 games in his 15-year career. His numbers are also quite remarkable with a double whammy of 10000 runs and 250 wickets, only one to do in this format.

Amidst those numbers, the thing which people forget is that Pollard also has a smart cricketing brain. One can often see him discussing important tactics with his team&#8217;s captains. For example, in IPL, where he plays for Mumbai Indians, Rohit Sharma falls back on Polly in dicey game situations. And it is because of his experience of leading T20 franchises.

By doing so, he has also won a couple of titles. The first one coming in 2014 CPL, where Pollard propelled the Barbados Tridents to the winners&#8217; podium. Then the history repeated itself in 2020 as he powered the Trinbago Knight Riders to their 4th title in the recently concluded CPL.

Under his captaincy, the franchise won 12 games in a row, a measure of his leadership skills. Coincidentally now, he is also the skipper of the country&#8217;s T20 side. So one can only expect new highs for the island nation.

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-233859" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Darren-Sammy-Misbah-Ul-Haq.jpg" alt="Darren Sammy &amp; Misbah Ul Haq" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-233859" class="wp-caption-text">Darren Sammy &amp; Misbah Ul Haq. (Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption>

Sometimes you don&#8217;t have to be extraordinary to fulfill your dreams because hard-work and self-belief can do the job for you. It is the perfect set of words to describe the career of Misbah-ul-Haq. The former Pakistan skipper wasn&#8217;t the best to emerge from the country, but he didn&#8217;t leave any stone unturned to become one of the best in the game.

Throughout his career, Misbah carried the batting unit of Pakistan across formats. Even in the T20s, he made a name for himself with his assured batting in the middle-order. For those who don&#8217;t know, he was Pakistan&#8217;s leading run-scorer in the inaugural T20 <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/it-was-a-hard-pill-to-swallow-rohit-sharma-on-indias-2019-world-cup-exit/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">World Cup</a>.

But it is not Misbah&#8217;s runs that helped him carve his legacy in the cricketing annals. It is his man-management skills that have made him an icon of the country&#8217;s cricket. His record as a T20 skipper is exemplary. He won 6 out of 8 games when he donned the captaincy hat in T20Is.

If those numbers are too small, then look at his record in Pakistan&#8217;s T20 franchise league, PSL. His win rate of 59.6 per cent in the league is the proof of his captaincy virtues. Besides, he is also the most successful captain of the PSL with two titles wins. He led the Islamabad United to championship glories in 2016 and 2018. That&#8217;s why he was even drafted by the franchise as their coach in PSL 2020.

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-349190" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/CT_366284.jpg" alt width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-349190" class="wp-caption-text">Chris Gayle. (Photo by Ashley Allen/CPL T20 via Getty Images)</figcaption>

Chris Gayle and his T20 legend are just never-ending. At 41, the cricketing fraternity still wants to see him bat, and that&#8217;s the kind of aura the Caribbean star has in the game. He can still instil fear in the best of the bowling attacks with his mere presence on the field. In other words, he is the greatest entertainer to have played this game.

His T20 numbers can leave anyone in a state of trance. Especially, his run-tally of 13000 is nothing short of a miracle. To go with it, the southpaw has struck 22 centuries in the format where a batsman dream of scoring at least one. So there is no doubt why he is considered a pioneer of this format.

Though Gayle isn&#8217;t a natural-born leader, his charisma is enough to gain him that role. That&#8217;s why even the West Indies cricket handed over the captaincy duties to him for a brief period. However, it didn&#8217;t turn out to be fruitful, and he stepped down immediately. Still, the captaincy hat didn&#8217;t leave him as his home-based T20 franchise, <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/cpl-2020-1st-semi-final-trinbago-knight-riders-vs-jamaica-tallawahs-trinbagos-winning-streaks-simmons-goes-past-gayle-and-more-stats/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Jamaica Tallawahs</a>, offered it in the CPL.

This time Gayle found more success as he led Tallawahs to their maiden title in the first CPL edition. Then again, in the 2016 season, the Universe Boss helped the franchise win the title for the second time. Those championships further confirm his glory in the shortest format of the game and also earns him a place in this list of most successful T20 captains.

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-146900" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Gautam-Gambhir-2017-IPL-10.jpg" alt="Gautam Gambhir" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-146900" class="wp-caption-text">Gautam Gambhir of Kolkata Knight Riders. (Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption>

The angry young man of his generation, Gautam Gambhir, is an under-rated persona of the Indian cricket. In his prime, he stood equal to the likes of MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh in white-ball cricket. He may not have the most enviable record but his contributions helped the country win championships.

Who can forget his innings of 75 in the 2007 T20 World Cup final that paved the way for the Men in Blue to lift an ICC trophy after 25 years? Thereafter, he went to onto play three more T20 World Cups, where he again provided stability at top of the order. Due to his consistency in the format, he also became the vice-captain of the side in the 2012 edition.

During all these, Gambhir also gained popularity in the IPL with his leadership skills. With his tactical genius and ability to think out of the box, he guided the <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/ipl-2020-match-12-rr-vs-kkr-kolkata-knight-riders-player-ratings/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Kolkata Knight Riders </a>to the championship in 2012. It was a big moment for him as he beat his then Indian skipper, MS Dhoni (Chennai Super Kings) with his smart captaincy moves.

His rise as a leader didn&#8217;t stop there as the Purple and Gold team continued to evolve under him. In the process, he added another trophy to the KKR cabinet in IPL 2014. He also managed to take them a Champions League final. Gambhir, the captain, has shaped up the legacy of Kolkata in the IPL, and it will forever remain in the hearts of KKR fans.

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-237354" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Simon-Katich.jpg" alt="Simon Katich" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-237354" class="wp-caption-text">Simon Katich. (Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption>

The Royal Challengers Bangalore are riding on a high wave after a great start to their 2020 IPL season. The team looks more settled and good to go deep in the tournament. Also, it seems that the new coaching staff consisting of <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/ipl-2020-yuzvendra-chahal-trolls-mike-hesson-after-being-denied-the-opening-spot-in-rcbs-playing-xi/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Mike Hesson </a>and Simon Katich has done the trick for the RCB. And the fans will be happier to know that the latter has an excellent coaching record in T20s.

That record has also to do something with his playing career. The former Australian batsman is a gritty customer who never shies away from challenges. He may not have played international T20s, but he is achieved quite a few things in his T20 career. He has played more than 100 games, including a couple of BBL seasons.

However, Katich&#8217;s real success in T20s lies in his captaincy record. He has led multiple T20 franchises like New South Wales and Perth Scorchers. Under him, both the teams flourished and reached great heights. It all started in 2008-09 Big Bash where he headed the New South Wales to their first T20 title.

Then, in 2010, Katich took NSW to the next level by winning the inaugural edition of Champions League T20. It established them as the top T20 side in world cricket. Thereafter, the southpaw again worked his magic in 2013-14 BBL as he led the Perth Scorchers to the glory lane. In all, he has won three T20 titles. So now it shouldn&#8217;t come as a surprise about how he has become the most accomplished coach in T20s.

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-441095" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Daren-Sammy-1.jpg" alt="Daren Sammy" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-441095" class="wp-caption-text">Daren Sammy. (Photo Source: Getty Images)</figcaption>

The West Indies cricket should be forever indebted to the services of their former skipper, Daren Sammy. Simply because he held the team together in the most trying times. Not only that, but he also led the resurgence of the Windies cricket in the 21st century. Although for just a small amount of time, he brought back smiles on the faces of several Caribbean cricket fans.

For Sammy, T20 was his strongest suit. A useful bowler and an explosive lower-order batsman, he fit perfectly into any T20 side. That&#8217;s why he became an attractive commodity in the <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/top-5-teams-with-most-centuries-in-t20-leagues/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">T20 leagues</a> around the globe. Though he didn&#8217;t reach the heights of Pollards and Bravos, he owned the format in some way.

More than his numbers, it is his leadership skills that earned him a name in the cricketing fraternity. His selfless attitude and ability to infuse unity in a team is second to none. For him, captaincy meant to inspire a group, and the rest will take care of itself. That tactic worked like a charm for him as Sammy became the only captain to win the T20I championships twice.

In both the 2012 and 2016 T20 World Cups, Sammy showed how a captain can change the fortunes of a muddled team. Since then, he has been doing the same things for the other T20 franchises. Notably, he also directed the PSL franchise, <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/peshawar-zalmi-owner-javed-afridi-calls-for-a-covid-19-fun-raiser-match-between-psl-and-ipl/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Peshawar Zalmi</a> to their maiden title in 2017. All these title wins clearly make him a legend of this format.

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-350045" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/CT_364427.jpg" alt width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-350045" class="wp-caption-text">Dwayne Bravo. (Photo by Randy Brooks &#8211; CPL T20 via Getty Images)</figcaption>

&#8216;Not a rebel without a cause&#8217; is an apt description of the West Indian cricketer Dwayne Bravo. The all-rounder might be criticized for his loyalty to the country&#8217;s cricket, but one cannot question his cricketing credentials for sure. He is one of the all-time greats when it comes to T20 cricket. His record speaks for himself.

The &#8216;Champion&#8217; of<a href="https://www.crictracker.com/trinidad-and-tobago-will-now-have-its-own-womens-t20-league/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> Trinidad and Tobago </a>tops the list of the leading wicket-takers in T20s. He has bagged over 540 wickets in his 500 appearances. Moreover, he has also piled more than 6500 runs. Other than that, Bravo has also played a significant role in popularizing the slam-bang version of the game.

Bravo likes to remain in the thick of things, and it is one reason why he has always been considered captaincy material by his team. He has led the Caribbean side in ODIs and as well as in T20Is. Even in the T20 leagues, he has got the opportunity to lead franchises. For instance, he has captained his CPL team, Trinbago Knight Riders for 5 consecutive seasons.

His success rate of more than 60 per cent is one of the best in the league. Bravo has led the TKR franchise to 3 championships and won the 2021 season to the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots, which makes him the most successful leader of the CPL history. He has also helped Chennai Super Kings with his leadership qualities in IPL. Looking at that record, one might wonder what he could have done for the national side if continued his term as the West Indies skipper.

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-198136" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Captain-coach.jpg" alt="Mashrafe Mortaza &amp; Tom Moody" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-198136" class="wp-caption-text">Mashrafe Mortaza &amp; coach Tom Moody pose with the BPL 2017 trophy. (Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption>

Since the dawn of this century, Bangladesh cricket has come a long way. The country has seen several cricketers make their mark in the international circuit. While some of them faded off after their initial burst, others became the guiding light of the country&#8217;s cricket. Mashrafe Mortaza is definitely in the latter category as he made the Bangla Tigers a potent force in the world cricket.

In all these years, Mortaza has been the team&#8217;s bowling messiah in white-ball cricket. He has kept several world-class batsmen in check with his fiery spells. And in return, he has accounted for over 300 wickets in ODIs and T20Is combined. Besides, he also led the Tigers in three World Cups.

Interestingly, his captaincy became the only plus point in the second half of his career. Mortaza really came into his own with his leadership skills. He also showcased that in the country&#8217;s T20 franchise league. In the Bangladesh Premier League, he won championships one after another.

In fact, he won 4 of them. In the first two years of the league, he helped the <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/mashrafe-mortaza-named-dhaka-platoon-captain-for-bpl-2019-20/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Dhaka Gladiators </a>to clinch two consecutive titles. Then when he moved to the Comilla Victorians in the 2015-16 season, the trophy followed him. A similar thing also happened in the 2017-18 season as Mortaza brought the title to the Rangpur Riders alongside him. In just a few years, Mortaza became one of the successful T20 skippers in the game.

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-148123" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Rohit-Sharma-IPL-2017.jpg" alt="Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-148123" class="wp-caption-text">Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma kisses IPL 2017 trophy. (Photo: IANS)</figcaption>

In recent times there is no cricketer who has garnered as much success as Rohit Sharma in the game. Be it any format, the Mumbaikar is creating records for fun. And with each passing inning, his batsmanship is only getting better. It might be bad news for the bowlers but it is certainly a dream come true for cricket enthusiasts.

Notably, in T20 cricket now Sharma has become a beast. He is the leading run-scorer for India in the shortest format of the game. The right-hander has gathered close to 2700 runs, including four centuries, a record in T20Is. On top of that, now he is also giving <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/ipl-2020-rcb-captain-virat-kohli-gifts-a-signed-bat-to-rrs-riyan-parag/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Virat Kohli</a> a tough competition with his captaincy skills.

Rohit&#8217;s growth as a leader can be attributed to the IPL. Getting that role amid 2013 IPL, he did the impossible of leading the Mumbai franchise to their maiden title from a precarious situation. After the 2013 IPL triumph, he took the MI to the Champions League glory in the same year. Since then, he hasn&#8217;t looked back and has outwitted the best of the cricket minds with his captaincy moves.

As a result, four more IPL titles followed in 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2020. In a way, the IPL has become his territory, as he is standing atop even the legendary MS Dhoni in terms of the number of championship wins. By the looks of it, he might also win more, but for the time being, he is second on this list with his 6 T20 titles.

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-256159" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/MS-Dhoni-7.jpg" alt="BCCI acting president CK Khanna presents IPL 2018 Trophy to Chennai Super Kings captain MS Dhoni" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-256159" class="wp-caption-text">MS Dhoni. (Photo by Surjeet Yadav/IANS)</figcaption>

Talk about successful T20 captains, and the first name that comes to everybody&#8217;s mind is none other than MS Dhoni. He is the &#8220;Thalaiva&#8221; of this format. Right from the 2007 T20 World Cup to IPL 2020, he has written so many chapters in the T20 cricketing annals. His contributions to this format cannot be measured even if we are living in the 21st century.

First, by winning the inaugural T20 championship, he gave the country their second ICC title. Moreover, he also started a new era in Indian cricket. If that is not enough, then he laid the stepping stone for the biggest T20 league in the world, IPL. And the rest, as they say, is just history.

Dhoni redefined the meaning of consistency as he headed the<a href="https://www.crictracker.com/ipl-2020-are-chennai-super-kings-csk-showing-lack-of-intent-in-their-run-chases/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> Chennai Super Kings </a>to unparalleled heights. Under him, the franchise won its first silverware in 2010. The second one followed immediately as the team also won the 2010 Champions League T20. The saga continued in the 2011 IPL as the franchise lifted its second title and completed a treble.

Then after a small gap, Dhoni again hogged the limelight when the CSK won the 2014 Champions League T20. And the latest one in the 2018 IPL, which is known as the comeback for the ages. Returning from the two-year ban, Dhoni reminded the naysayers that the CSK grandeur is eternal. The 2018 IPL win also gave him sixth major T20 title in his career. So now the fans will be hoping for one more to match his jersey number.

Though the game is of only 20 overs, to become a champion side, a team needs a quality leader.

Ranking Top 10 T20 captains based on the number of trophies won

Though the T20 format consists of only 20 overs, to become a champion side, a team needs a quality leader in their armoury.

Ranking Top 10 T20 captains based on the number of trophies won

Though the game is of only 20 overs, to become a champion side, a team needs a quality leader.

7. Gautam Gambhir – 2