| Captain | Span | Test | Win | Loss | Draw/tie |
| Graeme Smith (SA) | 2003-14 | 109 | 53 | 29 | 27/0 |
| Ricky Ponting (Aus) | 2004-10 | 77 | 48 | 16 | 13/0 |
| Steve Waugh (Aus) | 1999-2004 | 57 | 41 | 9 | 7/0 |
| V Kohli (IND) | 2014-21 | 63 | 37 | 15 | 11/0 |
| Clive Lloyd (WI) | 1974-85 | 74 | 36 | 12 | 26/0 |
| Allan Border (Aus) | 1984-94 | 93 | 32 | 22 | 38/1 |
| Stephen Fleming (NZ) |
1997-2006 | 80 | 28 | 27 | 25/0 |
| Vivian Richards (WI) |
1980-91 | 50 | 27 | 8 | 15/0 |
| Hansie Cronje (SA) | 1994-2000 | 53 | 27 | 11 | 15/0 |
| MS Dhoni (Ind) | 2008-14 | 60 | 27 | 18 | 15/0 |
Related: Successful skippers in T20, ODI cricket
Most successful Test captains in history
South Africa’s Graeme Smith tops the list of most successful Test captains with 53 wins, while also having the distinction of having led the Proteas in the most matches as Test skipper.
He is followed by Ricky Ponting, who has 48 Test wins in 77 Test matches, the second-most successful captain in Test history.
Another Australian, Steve Waugh, comes third on the list of captains with most Test wins (41), having led the Aussies in 57 Tests from 1999 to 2004.
India’s Virat Kohli is the fourth-most successful Test captain with 37 wins. That also gives Kohli the distinction of being the most successful Test captain of India. He surpassed MS Dhoni’s tally of 27 victories, which features tenth on the list of most Test wins as captain.
West Indies’s Clive Lloyd (36), Allan Border (32), New Zealand’s Stephen Fleming (28), Vivian Richards (27) and South Africa’s Hansie Cronje (27) are the other most successful Test captains to feature on the list.