Shane Warne Holds Record for Most Wins as Captain in a Single Indian Premier League Season

IPL 2026: Although Dhoni and Rohit may reign supreme in the IPL, with MI and CSK having won the trophy 5 times each, there is a special record that these two legends have not been able to touch to this day. Surprisingly, this record for winning the most matches in a single season does not belong to any major team, but a foreign legend achieved this feat under his leadership.

IPL 2026, MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma and Shane Warne: The countdown for IPL 2026, the 19th season, has begun, and the excitement of cricket is set to kick off from March 28. Whenever we talk about the most successful captains in the IPL, the names of MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma come to mind first. Both have led their teams to championship titles five times each. But did you know that a foreign legend has surpassed both of them in terms of the most wins in a single season?

This Foreigner Outperformed Dhoni and Rohit

The record for the most wins in a single IPL season as captain does not belong to an Indian, but to the legendary Australian spinner Shane Warne. In the very first season of the IPL in 2008, under Warne's captaincy, Rajasthan Royals (RR) created history by winning 13 matches and became the champions of the opening season. Surprisingly, Rajasthan has not won the trophy again since then.

Top 5 Captains with Most Wins in a Single Season

Wins	Captain	Team	Season
13	Shane Warne	Rajasthan Royals	2008
12	MS Dhoni	Chennai Super Kings	2013
12	George Bailey	Punjab Kings	2014
12	Gautam Gambhir	Kolkata Knight Riders	2012
12	Rohit Sharma	Mumbai Indians	2017

Dhoni and Rohit's Records

In 2013, under MS Dhoni's captaincy, CSK won 12 matches, although they lost to Mumbai in the final that year. Now Dhoni has stepped down from captaincy, and Ruturaj Gaikwad is leading the team. In 2017, under Rohit Sharma's captaincy, Mumbai Indians won 12 matches and also clinched the title. Now, Mumbai is led by Hardik Pandya.

Dhoni's Last Season?

The 44-year-old MS Dhoni has joined the CSK camp in Chennai and has started practising. Speculation is rife that 2026 could be Dhoni's last season as a player. With Sanju Samson in the team, it is being said that Dhoni might be seen less on the field this time and more in a mentor role. Dhoni, who has played 278 matches, scored 196 runs in 13 innings last season, where he mostly came in to bat in the final overs.