Top 10 most consecutive matches played by captains in ODIs

Captaincy in cricket is more demanding than in any other team sport. Not only does the captain has to be a consistent performer for the team, but also needs to have the motivational skills to get the best out of others. Captaincy records, though, do not always give the correct picture. The quality of the team can be a major factor in a captain’s record. Top 10 most consecutive matches played by captains in ODI cricket. 10. Arjuna Ranatunga- 55: Arjuna Ranatunga. (© Getty Images) The stockily-built left-handed batsman Arjuna Ranatunga led Sri Lanka to their greatest cricketing triumph, the 1996 World Cup. His innovative captaincy took a Sri Lanka team given little chance prior to the competition for cricket’s greatest prize. He made his debut in Sri Lanka’s inaugural Test at the age of 18 and made his country’s first Test half-century. A dominant figure on cricket fields all over the world for nearly 20 years, he never shied from confrontation, defending his players and rights to the hilt. In a career spanning from 1982 to 1999, he led his country at a stretch in 55 ODIs from 16/01/1996 to 24/01/1998. 9. Stephen Fleming- 56: Stephen Fleming. (Photo Source: Getty Images) Graceful and determined, Stephen Fleming will go down as his country’s most successful captain and one of their best batsmen after an international career that spanned 15 years. He owns a series of records, including the first New Zealander to pass 7000 Test runs, a landmark reached during his final series against England in 2008. During his last innings, in Napier, he did just enough to lift his career average over 40. He scored more than 8000 ODI runs in an illustrious career spanning from 1994 to 2007. He led his country at a stretch in 56 ODIs from 25/03/1999 to 28/02/2001. 8. Duleep Mendis- 60: Sri Lanka’s Duleep Mendis .(Photo by Ishara S.KODIKARA/AFP/Getty Images) A strong, burly, wristy batsman capable of destroying attacks at any level when in mood, Duleep Mendis played in key part in Sri Lanka’s early days as a Test-playing country in a career spanning from 1975 to 1989. Mendis was almost 30 when they played their first Test. He made a shaky start, but quickly found his feet, despite having the additional burden of captaining the side from their third Test. In ODI cricket, he captained the team at a stretch in 60 matches from 19/03/1983 to 30/10/1987. After retirement, he remained in the public eye, with Sri Lanka’s World Cup success coming while he was managing the side. 7. Mohammad Azharuddin- 67: Mohammad Azharuddin. (© Getty Images) The supremely talented Mohammad Azharuddin at his peak was a delight to watch. At times, it seemed his subtle wrists transformed a slender piece of willow into a magician’s wand. Azhar’s leg-side play was reminiscent of Zaheer Abbas and Greg Chappell. As captain, Azhar enjoyed tremendous success on made-to-order home pitches, while right to the end of his career he was peerless in the field, whether prowling the covers or pouching catches at slip. In a career spanning from 1985 to 2000 he led India at a stretch in 67 ODIs from 05/03/1993 to 26/05/1996. After a successful career, the allegations of match-fixing provided an emphatic full stop to Azhar’s cricketing ambitions and achievements. 6. MS Dhoni- 69: MS Dhoni. (Photo Source: AFP) Barring Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni is arguably the most popular and definitely the most scrutinised cricketer from India. He has done so coming from the cricketing backwaters, the mining state of Jharkhand, and through a home-made batting and wicketkeeping technique, and a style of captaincy that scales the highs and lows of both conservatism and unorthodoxy. Under Dhoni’s captaincy, India has won the top prize in all formats: the No.1 Test ranking for 18 months starting December 2009, the 50-over World Cup in 2011 and the World Twenty20 on his captaincy debut in 2007. From 29/09/2007 to 18/12/2009 he led his country at a stretch in 69 ODIs. He continues to be the skipper in shorter formats after having retired from Test cricket. 5. Misbah-ul-Haq- 75: Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq. (Photo by INDRANIL MUKHERJEE/AFP/Getty Images) The most remarkable aspect about Misbah-ul-Haq is his unflappable temperament. It shows in his batting, which reached unprecedented levels of consistency in 2011, and in his captaincy, which helped lift Pakistan from the depths of the spot-fixing saga in England in 2010. Taking over as leader immediately after that episode at the age of 36, Misbah’s calm approach was exactly what Pakistan cricket needed after the tumultuous period it had gone through. Perhaps it’s his degree in business management that has helped him manage, and get the best out of, a team as unpredictable as Pakistan. From 28/05/2011 to 10/10/2014 he led his country at a stretch in 75 ODIs. He has retired from ODIs and continues to lead Pakistan in Test cricket. 4. Alistair Campbell- 76: Alistair Campbell of Zimbabwe. (Digital Image Mandatory Credit: Nick Wilson/ALLSPORT) An elegant left-hander, Alistair Campbell showed great early promise, being selected for the national side while still at school, and becoming the youngest Zimbabwean to make a first-class century. He was selected for the 1992 World Cup at only 19. His aggressive style has proved highly effective in one-day internationals in years to follow. On taking over the captaincy in 1996, he led Zimbabwe to some notable successes including their remarkable series victory in Pakistan in 1998-99, and their qualification to the Super Sixes in the 1999 World Cup. However, he stood down from the captaincy in November 1999, citing personal reasons. In a career spanning from 1992 to 2003, he led Zimbabwe at a stretch in 76 ODIs from 26/08/1996 to 24/10/1999. 3. Mahela Jayawardene- 85: Mahela Jayawardene. (© Getty Images) A prolific, elegant and utterly classy batsman with a huge appetite for runs, and a calm yet authoritative captain – those are the qualities that best describe Mahela Jayawardene. His sheer quality as a batsman was never in doubt even when he just entered the international scene, but for Jayawardene the biggest challenge has been to justify all the early hype. With over 10,000 runs in both Tests and ODIs – and a captaincy stint that included a World Cup final appearance – it can safely be said that he has met that challenge more than adequately. The 2015 World Cup was his swansong in international cricket. In a career spanning from 1998 to 2015 he led Sri Lanka at a stretch in 85 ODIs from 19/03/2006 to 08/02/2009. 2. Shaun Pollock- 89: Shaun Pollock. (Photo Source: BCCI) The former South African captain Shaun Pollock was a very fine bowling all-rounder. He is South Africa’s leading wicket-taker in Tests and ODIs. The nephew of legendary South African cricketer Graeme Pollock and the son of former South African fast bowler Peter Pollock, he managed to live up to the expectations in an illustrious career for the Proteas. Pollock was thrust into the captaincy in April 2000 when Hansie Cronje was drummed out of the game, and he faced the biggest challenge of his career – to lift a shocked and demoralised South African side. In a career spanning from 1996 to 2008 he led Zimbabwe at a stretch in 89 ODIs from 12/04/2000 to 03/03/2003. 1. Hansie Cronje- 130: Hansie Cronje. (© Getty Images) With his aggressive batting, intelligent medium-pace bowling and brilliant fielding, the late Hansie Cronje was a formidable competitor. When Cronje succeeded Kepler Wessels in 1994-95 he began the partnership with the late Bob Woolmer that masterminded South Africa’s tactics until the 1999 World Cup, He was welcomed as an adventurous captain; one prepared to gamble. In his first series, against New Zealand in South Africa, he became the first captain since W. G. Grace to win a three-match rubber after being one down. In a career spanning from 1992 to 2000 he led South Africa at a stretch in 130 ODIs from 06/12/1994 to 27/03/2000. He died on June 1, 2002 aged 32 when the cargo plane in which he was travelling crashed. His achievements were overshadowed by the match-fixing controversy that rocked the cricket world. All stats updated till 28th Jan 2016. Also read: Top 10 Batsmen fastest to 7000 runs in ODIs