Very few players are there in cricket history who has led his team from the front and scored piles of runs for their country. The players have contributed with both the bat and with their captaincy skills in their ODI career. This list includes some brilliant captains including Ricky Ponting, MS Dhoni, and Arjuna Ranatunga. They have shown how to handle the captaincy of a team along with how to score lots of runs.
Ricky Ponting has topped the list of Most runs in ODI as captain of a side. He has scored 8497 runs as captain of the Aussies ODI team. Meanwhile, he has scored 22 centuries and 51 half-centuries between his captaincy span.
Read Also: Virat Kohli records as captain in ODIs
However, Virat Kohli has completed his journey as the ODI captain of his side. Kohli has scored 5449 runs with an average of 72.65 in ODIs as captain. Meanwhile, Kohli has the best average and strike in the list of top 5. He is, in fact, the only player to have batted at an average of more than 70 and a strike rate of more than 90. Meanwhile, the Indian captain is on the cusp of creating another record. As the 3rd ODI beckons.
This list includes Ponting, Dhoni, Fleming, Ranatunga, and Virat Kohli who have scored the most runs in ODI for their country as a leader. Let's check out the complete list of the top 5 captains in cricket history who have scored the most runs in ODI cricket.
Also Read: Most ICC Finals as captain
Most Runs in ODI as Captain
| Player (Captain) | Runs | Innings | Average | 100/50 | High Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ricky Ponting (AUS) | 8497 | 220 | 42.91 | 22/51 | 164 |
| MS Dhoni (IND) | 6641 | 172 | 53.56 | 6/47 | 139* |
| Stephen Fleming (NZ) | 6295 | 208 | 32.79 | 7/38 | 134* |
| Arjuna Ranatunga (SL) | 5608 | 183 | 37.64 | 4/37 | 131* |
| Virat Kohli (IND) | 5449 | 91 | 72.65 | 21/27 | 160* |
Virat Kohli's batting average while playing as captain stands out on this list. It's over 70 now, and it's unbelievable that the pressure of captaincy has never crossed him. In fact, his stats improved after becoming the captain of the team. If you check his year-by-year stats, you will see he became a monster of a batsman after 2017, when he was made the captain of the Indian cricket team.
Ricky Ponting also leads the chart for the most centuries as captain in ODIs (22) and the most fifties as captain in ODIs (51). Ponting also batted the most ODI innings as captain (220).