IPL: A look at players with 100-plus caps as captain
What's the story
Punjab Kings skipper Shreyas Iyer has unlocked another achievement in the Indian Premier League (IPL). He joined an elite list of players who have led in 100 or more IPL games. Iyer reached the landmark while leading Punjab Kings against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in IPL 2026 at HPCA Stadium, Dharamsala. Here are the players with 100-plus caps while leading in the IPL.
#1
MS Dhoni: 235 matches
MS Dhoni is the most successful captain in IPL history. He led Chennai Super Kings (CSK) to five titles, apart from taking over the reins of Rising Pune Supergiants for a season. Between 2008 and 2025, Dhoni led in 235 IPL games, winning 136 and losing 97 (NR: 2). Dhoni remains the only captain to have won 100-plus IPL matches.
#2
Rohit Sharma: 158 matches
Rohit Sharma follows Dhoni on this elite list. Leading Mumbai Indians (MI) in 158 matches, the 39-year-old won 87 and lost 67. Four games were decided through a Super Over. Rohit has a win percentage of 55.06 as captain in the league. He led MI to five IPL titles. Notably, Rohit has never lost an IPL final as captain.
#3
Virat Kohli: 143 matches
Between 2011 and 2023, the legendary Virat Kohli led Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in 143 matches. Kohli won 66 and lost 70 games. And three matches concluded with a Super Over (Win percentage: 46.15). Although Kohli never won an IPL title as captain, he gave the Royal Challengers (RCB) some resounding moments. Under him, RCB finished as the IPL 2016 runners-up.
#4
Gautam Gambhir: 129 matches
At the moment, Gautam Gambhir is the only other captain to have led in more than 100 IPL games. Gamhir led two franchises - Delhi Capitals (DC) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). But the majority of his success came while spearheading KKR. Under him, KKR won two of their three titles (2012 and 2014). Gambhir won 71 of his 129 IPL games as captain.
#5
Shreyas Iyer: 100 matches
As mentioned, Shreyas Iyer is the latest entrant in this club. He is the only captain in the top five to lead three franchises - DC, KKR, and PBKS. Interestingly, Iyer remains the only captain to have led three franchises to IPL finals. He even won one with KKR in 2024. Leading in 100 games, Iyer has won 54 and lost 40 (Tied: 2).