IPL 2020: List Of Captains For All The Teams

The thirteenth season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is all set to begin from the 29th of March. Mumbai Indians are the defending champions, having won the previous edition by one run against the Chennai Super Kings. The two sides will also open the thirteenth season of the lucrative T20 league by squaring off against each other at the Wankhede Stadium.

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Ahead of the upcoming season, not only change in personnel but also amendments in captains for some of the franchises have taken place. The management may have decided to carry on the changes due to their former captain’s repeated failures in performing well as the leader. Perhaps, with a little more than a month to go for the tournament to begin, all teams have finalized the names of their captains.

We take a look at the captains for all the IPL franchises ahead of the forthcoming season:

Virat Kohli – Royal Challengers Bangalore

Perhaps the most underperforming team in history, Royal Challengers Bangalore have fallen flat despite some of the biggest names in their armoury. The likes of Virat Kohli, Ab de Villiers, Moeen Ali, and Marcus Stoinis weren’t enough in the previous season as they finished last. Kohli, as a captain, has looked clueless for the most part as well. Yet, he is the leading run-getter in the history of the league with 5412 runs.

Ahead of the 2020 season, the franchise has decided to stick with Kohli as the leader along with purchasing players like Aaron Finch, Chris Morris, Isuru Udana, Josh Philippe, and Kane Richardson. One can only hope that this set of players can help Bangalore break the drought.

MS Dhoni – Chennai Super Kings

MS Dhoni is one of the most decorated captains and cricketers ever since the first season of the IPL. The 38-year old will begin to train for the campaign from the 2nd of March to bond with the new set of players. Under his leadership, the yellow army has won three IPL titles, including two consecutive times in 2010 and 2011.

Since 2008, Chennai has made it to the playoffs in all the seasons they have took part in and finished as runners-up on five occasions. The 38-year old has won 104 matches in 170 as the skipper. He will feature in his first competitive game since the 2019 World Cup in July.

Rohit Sharma – Mumbai Indians

Rohit Sharma is currently out of action due to a calf injury he suffered during the T20I series against New Zealand. But he is expected to come back to lead the Mumbai Indians. The Mumbai batsman is the most successful captain in the tournament history, having won four titles in six years as captain.

It all started in 2013 when Ricky Ponting benched himself to install Rohit as the skipper that proved to be a masterstroke. The 32-year old is also the third-highest run-getter in the history of the league with 4898 runs, sitting behind Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina. As a captain, the flamboyant batsman has won 62 out of the 103 matches.

Shreyas Iyer – Delhi Capitals

Shreyas Iyer overtook the captaincy of Delhi-based franchise in the mid-2018 season when Gautam Gambhir stepped down, owing to poor form. While that season didn’t go their way, Delhi Capitals made significant progress under him in the previous season. Delhi made it to the playoffs for the first time in as many years with the help of some young guns in the squad.

Even with the bat, the 25-year old reigned supreme, mustering 467 runs in 16 games. Though Delhi faced elimination in the playoffs, it signalled that the team was moving in the correct direction under him. Additionally, due to his comeback in the national team, one can expect him to launch more fireworks in the upcoming season. Spending time with the likes of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma would have helped him with the captaincy as well.

KL Rahul – Kings XI Punjab

After Ravichandran Ashwin’s movement to Delhi Capitals for the upcoming season, Kings XI Punjab decided to give the captaincy duties to KL Rahul. KL Rahul has become one of the most crucial players in India’s set up in white-ball cricket currently and also captained in the final T20I between New Zealand and India in Mount Maunganui.

His proactiveness behind the stumps was largely visible as he assisted Kohli with several DRS decisions. It would be his first time as the captain of an IPL team and with Anil Kumble as the coach, one can expect Punjab to reach all the way. Additionally, players like Sheldon Cottrell, Glenn Maxwell, and James Neesham overwhelmingly boost their chances of a win. The Karnataka lad was also in sensational touch in the previous season, having scored 593 runs in 14 fixtures.

Dinesh Karthik – Kolkata Knight Riders

Kolkata Knight Riders decided to retain Dinesh Karthik as the captain despite underperforming last season. In 2018, when Karthik captained them for the first time, he carried them to the playoffs. However, they only won six out of their 14 games in 2019 despite having a well-balanced squad. In terms of their batting, they were over-reliant on Andre Russell, who often bailed them out of precarious situations.

The two-time champions were also one of the most active franchises in the auction that took place in December 2019. They have roped in the likes of Pat Cummins, Eoin Morgan, Tom Banton, and Chris Green which makes them one of the most fearsome outfits.

David Warner – Sunrisers Hyderabad

One of the massive announcements that followed in the Hyderabad camp is the reappointment of David Warner as captain, replacing Kane Williamson. Arguably, Warner is one of the best and the most aggressive leaders under whom, Sunrisers lifted their trophy in 2016. The southpaw has been trusted upon by the management to bring the title once again home. The New South Wales-born has won 26 out of 47 games he has captained in.

He couldn’t play in 2018 due to the perpetration of the infamous ball-tampering scandal; however, it didn’t stop him from bagging the Orange Cap in 2019. He was the best batsmen of the tournament by a mile, amassing 692 runs in only 11 games. The Orange Army finished fourth in 2019 and would be hoping to end two steps ahead in the forthcoming season.

Steve Smith – Rajasthan Royals

Following Rajasthan’s torrid run in the last season, the management decided to hand over the captaincy duties to Steve Smith from Ajinkya Rahane midway. The former Australian captain did a decent job, making the franchise win three out of five games. But it wasn’t enough to take them to the playoffs. And predictably, Smith would return this year to lead Rajasthan right from the outset. He also has an imposing record as a captain, having won 19 out of 28 matches.

Rajasthan could have a mountain to climb in the upcoming season. Apart from making questionable buys in the auction, they are also waiting to find out if Jofra Archer would be available for them as he is nursing an injury. Hence, the likes of Jos Buttler, Steve Smith, Ajinkya Rahane, Ben Stokes, and Shreyas Gopal could have the bulk of work to do.

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