Captaincy is a very underrated part of the game. There’s absolutely no doubt that cricket is a team game and the credit or criticism (depending on the result) has to be taken as a team. Yes, individual brilliances win games. However, captaincy is one aspect which is very critical. One move can change the complexion of a game on either side. It’s often the captain that defines the team.
IPL 2020 has been deferred for the moment. There is quite a bit of uncertainty around it. But as we wait for some official confirmations on the 13th edition, we could take a look at the captains for this upcoming season and rate them.
KL Rahul – 5/10
You’d wonder why such a low rating for someone who brings so much class and quality to the side. KL Rahul has been the torch-bearer of Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) for the last couple of seasons. He’s been absolutely brilliant with the bat and has donned the gloves too when necessary. The Karnataka lad was also the vice-captain of the side and was constantly in Ravichandran Ashwin’s ear.
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However, this time around, the captaincy armband has been passed on to him. With Ashwin being traded to the Delhi Capitals, Rahul will be at helm for the IPL 2020 season. This will be his first stint as captain in the IPL. The only time he led India was when Virat Kohli was rested and Rohit Sharma got injured in the fifth T20I in New Zealand earlier this year. He stepped in as a stand-in captain and marshalled the troops quite well. But Rahul is untested and hence, the rating 5/10.
Dinesh Karthik – 5.5/10
It was a slight surprise that Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) did not retain Gautam Gambhir after the success they had under his leadership. But Gambhir’s personal form with the bat wasn’t the best and KKR decided to move on. They put their money and trust on Dinesh Karthik as captain in 2018.
The Tamil Nadu stumper had led in a few games here and there but 2018 was his first full season as captain. In 30 games since then, Karthik has found success in 15 of them. He led KKR into the playoffs of the 2018 season. But it is the way he’s handled his team that leads to this rating of 5.5. Injuries haven’t helped either but it is the batting order has been constantly changing. In fact, last season, Andre Russell was very critical and vocal about it as well.
Virat Kohli – 6/10
There’s absolutely no doubt that Virat Kohli is arguably the best batsman across formats in world cricket. However, for the last couple of years, Kohli’s captaincy has been under the scanner.
The Delhi lad is Royal Challengers Bangalore’s (RCB) driving engine and is the only player in the history of the IPL to play for just one team for 12 seasons. Moreover, Kohli has been leading RCB since 2013 but the Bangalore-based franchise have not lifted the title even once. In fact, under Kohli, they’ve reached the playoffs just twice (2015 and 2016). They came agonisingly close in 2016 but failed to cross the final hurdle.
The RCB skipper has faced quite a bit of criticism for his on-field decisions. He has a tendency of following the ball and RCB haven’t backed players to the fullest either. He tends to follow the ball on the field (as far as fielding positions are concerned) and RCB have been guilty of not backing players as well. Also, RCB’s performance over the last three seasons has been well below par (finished last twice – 2017 and 2019). Thus, Kohli gets a six.
Shreyas Iyer – 6.5/10
It isn’t easy to lead a team like Delhi Capitals (DC). They are the only team in the history of the league to never make a final. They have also ended with the wooden spoon four times, the most by any side. But Shreyas Iyer seems to be changing their fortunes. He was handed the captaincy midway through the 2018 season after Gautam Gambhir stepped down.
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He didn’t have the best of starts but has picked up pace as he’s grown into the captaincy role. Last season, Iyer led Delhi into the playoffs for the first time since the 2012 season. Delhi won 10 out of the 16 games in the 2019 season and crashed out in the second qualifier. But it was a very impressive performance from them under Iyer. The Mumbai-born cricketer has shown that he can handle the team well in pressure situations as well and his decision-making is good as well.
David Warner – 7.5/10
David Warner is back at the captaincy helm as far as Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) are concerned. Kane Williamson led the Orange Army for a couple of seasons and led the to the final in 2018 and the playoffs in 2019. But SRH’s best player is back as captain for the upcoming season. The left-handed Australian opener has been simply brilliant for SRH ever since he joined the side in 2014.
He was full-time captain in three seasons and led SRH to the title in 2016 and the playoffs in 2017. Warner is always in the face of the opposition and isn’t shy from showing his emotions on the field. In the IPL, Warner has a win-loss record of 26-21 from 47 games and most of them have come for SRH. He has been one of the most consistent players over the last few years in the IPL and has been SRH’s driving force. It won’t be any different this time around with the only difference being that he is back at helm.
Steve Smith – 8/10
It was Ajinkya Rahane who was Rajasthan Royals’ (RR) captain last season but midway through Steve Smith replaced him. He was originally the captain in 2018 before he was slapped with a 12-month ban for the infamous ball tampering scandal in March 2018. Smith has a very good record as captain in the IPL. He’s led three teams so far and has won 19 out of the 29 games he’s been captain.
In fact, Smith led Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS) in 2017 and that was his only full season as captain. He led them to the final and was pretty good tactically. Even Australia were very good under Smith. Moreover, captaincy does bring the best out of Smith as a batsman as well and he is certain to do well in IPL 2020. He gets an eight.
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Rohit Sharma – 9/10
No other captain in the history of the IPL has led a team to four IPL titles. It was Rohit Sharma’s arrival as captain that saw the fortunes of Mumbai Indians (MI) swing drastically. Until the start of 2013, they had made it to one final and a couple of playoffs. However, in 2013 they started winning IPL titles and they haven’t looked back since.
Rohit Sharma took over captaincy midway through the 2013 season of the IPL. Midway through the season Rohit took over from Ricky Ponting as captain and led the team inspirationally. MI have won a couple of titles coming back from the dumps and it’s all been under Rohit’s captaincy. The MI support staff has been excellent as well but the Mumbai cricketer has to be credited for the way he’s backed some of the players and the way he marshals his troops on the field. Apart from MS Dhoni, Rohit is one player who is relatively calm on the field. Thus, the MI skipper gets a nine.
MS Dhoni – 9.5/10
This won’t come as a surprise to anyone that MS Dhoni has got the highest rating. Only one player has led a side for a staggering 174 matches. In fact, there was just one season (2017) where Dhoni wasn’t leading a side (Rising Pune Supergiant). Apart from the 2017 edition, every game that the Ranchi cricketer has played in the IPL, he has been captain.
As far as records and stats go, Dhoni is miles ahead of the others. No player has even 75 wins as captain and Dhoni has led in a stunning 104 wins. He has a win percentage of 60.11% and that moves up to 62.26% when he captains Chennai Super Kings (CSK). Dhoni simply defines CSK and is the heart of the franchise. Season after season, they make it to the playoffs or the final at least. Dhoni just knows how to win and get the best out of the resources and the players he has at his disposal. Hence, he gets 9.5.