IPL 2021: Rating Captains Of Each Of The 8 Franchises In The Tournament

The IPL 2021 season concluded on October 15 after a month of closely fought matches. The season was initially postponed in April after an outbreak of covid cases. The BCCI decided to move it to the UAE where Chennai Super Kings reigned supreme, defeating Kolkata Knight Riders in the final.

It was the fourth title for MS Dhoni and co. and they are now just one short of Mumbai Indians’ tally of 5 titles. Although the matches were low-scoring, the entertainment factor continued to hit the ceiling. Here, we take a look at how each of the captains fared while leading their side in the IPL 2021 season.

IPL 2021: Rating Captains Of Each Of The 8 Franchises In The Tournament

David Warner (SRH) – (2/10)

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) batsman David Warner had a terrible IPL 2021 season, perhaps going down as his worst-ever. He was the skipper of the side in the first six matches of the season, where SRH lost five games. Warner was subsequently dropped from the team and stripped of the captaincy. SRH failed to recover from it and ended at the bottom of the table.

Kane Williamson (SRH) – (4/10)

After taking over Warner, Kane Williamson couldn’t do much with the side either. The losses continued to pile on and they were eventually knocked with more than a few games left in the IPL 2021 season. Under Williamson’s leadership, SRH managed to get just two more wins out of the remaining eight matches. It was a season to forget altogether for the SRH franchise.

Sanju Samson (RR) – (4/10)

The Rajasthan Royals (RR) skipper Sanju Samson had one of his most consistent performances ever in the IPL 2021 season. However, none of the other batsmen contributed anywhere close to enough, leaving Samson to fight a lone battle. This meant the team also sunk on the points table with 5 wins in 14 matches and Samson’s captaincy wasn’t good enough. He is still inexperienced, however, and has what it takes to improve.

KL Rahul (PBKS) – (4/10)

Another player engaging in a lone battle was Punjab Kings (PBKS) skipper KL Rahul. He finished third on the list for most runs this season but he lacked the acumen necessary to lead the side. There were plenty of bizarre changes in the team combination, and how much of this was down to some poor management cannot be figured out. PBKS finished sixth on the IPL 2021 points table with 6 wins and 8 losses.

Rohit Sharma (MI) – (6/10)

The double-defending champions Mumbai Indians failed to make it to the playoffs this time around. Rohit Sharma and co. found themselves wanting in the initial stages of the UAE leg. They arrived in the Middle East with four wins and three losses but threw it all away when it mattered, which is quite surprising for a champion side like MI.

Virat Kohli (RCB) – (7/10)

In his last season as RCB skipper, Kohli improved leaps and bounds as the captain. His batting, on the other hand, took quite a big hit. Although RCB had a great group stage winning 9 out of 14 matches, what hurt them the most was the poor form of Kohli and AB de Villiers in the UAE. Nevertheless, Kohli was adept at marshaling his troops but it wasn’t enough once again.

Rishabh Pant (DC) – (7/10)

Rishabh Pant was captaining the side for the first time in the absence of regular skipper, Shreyas Iyer. He did exceptionally well as a whole but failed to make the right decisions in the clutch moments. His choice of giving Tom Curran the final over instead of Kagiso Rabada in Qualifier 1 of the IPL 2021 will be questioned for many years to come.

Eoin Morgan (KKR) – (8/10)

Eoin Morgan led the side in two completely contrasting phases. In India, KKR won just 2 out of 7 matches. However, they turned it around in the UAE, winning 7 out of 9 matches before losing to CSK in the final of IPL 2021. Morgan was exceptional on the field, and his optimal use of spinners on the slow surfaces bore plenty of fruits for the Kolkata franchise.

MS Dhoni (CSK) – (9/10)

Although he underperformed with the bat, MS Dhoni was as acute as ever while captaining the side. Perfect reading of the pitch, backing out of form players, utilizing the resources at hand – he did them all. It was witnessed in the final when KKR looked in prime position to take the trophy home but Dhoni remained calm throughout, knowing all it needed was a single breakthrough and the IPL 2021 trophy would be CSK’s.

Also Read – Robin Uthappa Feels Grateful To Be Part Of CSK Side, Explains The Reasons For His Success