Rahul Dravid Places This International Captain Over Virat Kohli, Ricky Ponting, Imran Khan, Pat Cummins

Former India head coach Rahul Dravid recently faced a tough challenge when he was asked to pick the greatest international captain in cricket history. Dravid enjoyed an illustrious playing career, featuring in 509 matches and scoring 24,208 runs across all three formats. He later guided India to the 2024 T20 World Cup title as head coach. When asked to choose the best international skipper, Dravid ultimately picked the legendary MS Dhoni over several iconic captains. Notably, India won three ICC titles under Dhoni's leadership.

Speaking to ESPNcricinfo, Dravid took part in a rapid-fire challenge where he had to choose between two captains at a time. The contest began with the former India batter selecting Australia veteran Steve Smith over Ben Stokes, Kane Williamson, Arjuna Ranatunga, Graeme Smith, Stephen Fleming, Michael Clarke, Eoin Morgan, and Pat Cummins.

Rahul Dravid's top international captain is _________ pic.twitter.com/hmaf2Zsz7K

— Cricinfo (@cricinfo) September 12, 2026

His decision to pick Smith over Cummins came as a surprise, considering Cummins led Australia to both the World Test Championship and ODI World Cup titles in 2023.

As the challenge progressed, Dravid finally opted against Smith when he was pitted against Australia's legendary captain Ricky Ponting. The competition intensified as Ponting got past Allan Border before losing to Steve Waugh. Dravid then chose Virat Kohli ahead of Waugh, but the former India captain was subsequently edged out by ex-Pakistan skipper Imran Khan.

The most anticipated matchup came when Imran went up against MS Dhoni, with Dravid choosing the Indian great. In the final stage of the challenge, Dhoni faced West Indies legend Clive Lloyd, and Dravid named the former India captain as the ultimate winner.

Dhoni captained India in white-ball cricket from 2007 to 2017 and led the Test side from 2008 to 2014. Under his leadership, India won the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007, the ODI World Cup in 2011, and the Champions Trophy in 2013.

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