They say he is a trophy collector — and rightfully so. MS Dhoni has won nearly every major tournament a cricket captain dreams of: the World Cup, Champions Trophy, Asia Cup, IPL, and the Champions League T20.
MS Dhoni is undoubtedly one of the greatest cricketing minds the sport has ever seen. Whether leading India or Chennai Super Kings (CSK), his strategic brilliance has shaped an era of dominance.
That said, let’s look at MS Dhoni’s captaincy record across all formats in cricket.
MS Dhoni Captaincy Record in All Formats
| Matches | Won | Lost | Tied | Draw | No Result | Win% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 322 | 179 | 120 | 5 | 15 | 13 | 55.59 |
After senior players decided not to participate in the 2007 T20 World Cup, the BCCI was in a fix over who would captain India. Sachin Tendulkar recommended MS Dhoni for the job.
And the decision turned things around for India, which was going through a bad phase after their early exit from the 2007 ODI World Cup. In his maiden assignment, Dhoni took his young men to the T20 World Cup victory.
After that impressive start, the ODI leadership came along shortly. And by 2008, Dhoni was at the helm across all formats.
In a decade-long reign, Captain Cool led India in 322 matches across formats. He took the team over the ropes in 179 games to end up with a win percentage of 55.59.
These numbers easily make MSD the most successful captain India has ever had in international cricket.
Also Read: Virat Kohli Captaincy Record
1. MS Dhoni Captaincy Record in Test Cricket
| Matches | Won | Lost | Draw | No Result | Win% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60 | 27 | 18 | 15 | 0 | 45.00 |
Dhoni took over the Test captaincy from Anil Kumble in early 2009. Within a few months, India reached the No. 1 ICC rankings. And they remained at the top for almost two years.
That was Dhoni’s major achievement as Test skipper. It wasn’t possible without a sheer dominance on home soil. MSD guided India to nine series victories at home till 2014.
But Dhoni couldn’t bring the same results in overseas tours, with only three series wins to show.
Nevertheless, he left the captaincy with the most wins for India before his successor, Virat Kohli, surpassed his tally. Dhoni’s 27 wins in 60 Tests are now the second-most as a skipper for India.
2. MS Dhoni Captaincy Record in ODI Cricket
| Matches | Won | Lost | Tied | No Result | Win% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 200 | 110 | 74 | 5 | 11 | 55.00 |
Dhoni’s leadership worked on a different scale in ODIs. His tactical decision-making saw India home most of the time.
And no wonder it was under Dhoni’s regime that India added two ICC ODI trophies. The first one was the World Cup, lifted in 2011 after 28 years of drought. Then followed the Champions Trophy in 2013.
MSD captained India in 200 matches for nine years in ODIs. And he returned with 110 wins and 29 series victories. He now sits at the top as the most successful Indian captain in ODI cricket.
3. MS Dhoni Captaincy Record in T20I Cricket
| Matches | Won | Lost | Tied | No Result | Win% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 72 | 42 | 28 | 0 | 2 | 58.33 |
Dhoni’s shrewd captaincy was also visible in T20I cricket. And everyone witnessed it right at the start of his stint, as India lifted the T20 World Cup in 2007.
Dhoni went on to lead India in five more T20 World Cups. But he wasn’t able to replicate the 2007 success in any of those editions.
Nevertheless, India won 42 of 72 T20Is under MSD’s leadership. The wins are now the second-most for India, behind Rohit Sharma’s 50.
4. MS Dhoni Captaincy Record in IPL
| Matches | Won | Lost | Tied | No Result | Win% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 235 | 136 | 97 | 0 | 2 | 57.87 |
Dhoni was perhaps at his finest as skipper in the IPL. The five title wins with CSK prove that.
He led CSK with a lot of passion in 15 IPL seasons. And the franchise made the playoffs in 12 of those editions!
So this shows how big a role Dhoni played behind CSK’s massive success all these years. He took them to 131 victories out of 221 games in the league.
Dhoni also had a captaincy stint with Rising Pune Supergiants in the IPL 2016. But he couldn’t bring CSK-like results in a one-season run.
Also See: Top Run-Scorers in IPL Playoffs History
In all, he led in 235 IPL matches and returned with 136 victories to stamp his authority as the most successful captain in the league.
