Rating Captains Of Each Of The 8 Franchises In IPL 2020

It is fair to say that the Indian Premier League [IPL] is one of the toughest competitions to win in cricket. An IPL team is an amalgamation of cricketers hailing from different cultures who come together for a common cause.

And, so to win the tournament, not only does a skipper has to ensure that he is tactically astute on the field besides leading the team from the front with his skills, but he also has to ensure that keeps the squad together off the field and at the same time take difficult calls when the going gets tough.

So, how did the captains fared in IPL 2020? Here’s a look:

Rohit Sharma- 10/10

There is a reason why Rohit Sharma is the most successful captain in the history of the IPL.

His calmness as well as his tactical nouse was on display this season as well. Rohit’s biggest quality on the field is he never lets the game drift away with defensive tactics.

5atisfying! ???#OneFamily #MumbaiIndians #Dream11IPLFinal #MIvDC #MIChampion5 #Believe?? @ImRo45 pic.twitter.com/SL7sOBC2EV

— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) November 10, 2020

Whenever he perceives a threat, he always turns up to his ace bowlers to nip it in the bud. The most pertinent example of it was when he introduced Jasprit Bumrah in the attack as soon as Andre Russell came to bat in both the fixtures against KKR. We all know what happened after that. Another instance came in the finals when he picked Jayant Yadav, who had not featured in a single game this season, ahead of Rahul Chahar.

The move worked brilliantly as Yadav claimed the prizes scalp of Shikhar Dhawan in his very first over.

With the bat, however, Rohit had a disappointing campaign leading into the finals. But, as all champions do, Sharma chose the summit clash to regain his form as he spearheaded MI’s run-chase with a stylish 68 to lead his side to an unprecedented 5th IPL title.

Shreyas Iyer- 9/10

His on-field tactics might still be a work in progress but there is no doubt in the fact that Shreyas Iyer relishes the responsibility that comes with leading a team full of international stars.

After having led DC to the Playoffs for the first time since 2012 last year, Shreyas Iyer spearheaded his side to their maiden IPL finals this year.

As far as his batting is concerned, he had his moments in the initial part of the season before he underwent a significant blip at the backend. But the talented batsman once again displayed his class in the finals as he notched up an unbeaten half-century to lead his team to a respectable total besides racking up 500-plus runs in the season for the first time in his career.

Dinesh Karthik- 5/10

Dinesh Karthik came into the tournament as a leader of Kolkata Knight Riders and even though he led them to four wins in seven games, he came under heavy scrutiny due to his on-field tactics and the make-up of his batting-order.

As far as his own batting is concerned, Karthik continued to promote himself at the No.4 spot despite repeated failures. Ultimately, DK relinquished the leadership role to Eoin Morgan midway through the season.

Eoin Morgan- 5/10

Just like Dinesh Karthik, Eoin Morgan too baffled with the choices of the batting-order in every game that he captained.

And, even though he was brilliant with the bat, his reluctance to bat higher up the order and constant shuffles of the batting-order meant KKR never ever settled on a fixed line-up, paving way for their eventual exit.

Under his leadership, KKR won 3 out of 7 games.

Kieron Pollard- 8/10

That Kieron Pollard is a natural leader of me was once again on display when he led the Mumbai Indians in the absence of Rohit Sharma in IPL 2020.

Pollard led MI in four games in which he emerged victorious in three of them. The only defeat came against Rajasthan Royals thanks to a whirlwind knock by Benjamin Stokes, who stroked an unbeaten hundred.

Virat Kohli- 6/10

Virat Kohli once again failed to capture the elusive IPL trophy as his team imploded at the later half of the season, losing 5 in a row after having won seven in the first ten fixtures.

Kohli was comparatively good with his on-field tactics but once again it was his impatience in sticking with a fixed playing 11 that was exposed to the hilt.

But Kohli would be most disappointed with the fact that he couldn’t deliver with the bat when it really mattered despite having scored more than 400 runs in the competition.

Steve Smith- 4/10

Steve Smith started the IPL with back-to-back half-centuries but post those two games, he underwent a significant slump which mirrored his sides’ fortunes.

It was largely a disappointing show by the Royals skipper as he constantly fidgeted with his batting position and his batting style. In 14 innings, Steve Smith managed 311 runs in 14 innings at an average of 25.91 and a strike-rate of 131.22 with three 50+ scores.

With regards to his captaincy, Smith largely looked clueless in his tactics. He constantly changed around his batting-order, thus causing instability in the ranks, and did not show any confidence in youngsters like Yashasvi Jaiswal and Akash Singh and kept going with non-performers like Robin Uthappa, Jaydev Unadkat, Ankit Rajpoot, and Varun Aaron.

David Warner- 8/10

David Warner once again proved why he is one of the great IPL leaders of all time.

Not only did the southpaw had another season where he smashed more than 500 runs to lead his team from the front, but his tactical changes to the playing 11 at the backend of the tournament also proved to be masterstrokes as SRH notched up a four-match winning streak to qualify for Qualifier 02 before eventually finishing second best against DC.

KL Rahul- 7/10

This was KL Rahul’s maiden IPL season as captain but despite his side suffering a significant slump in the first half, his form with the bat did not dip.

That he is a calm character was proved to the hilt when he spearheaded KXIP to lift them from the dead, registering five wins in a row at the backend before eventually losing the last league match against CSK to bow out of the tournament.

Rahul finished with 670 runs in 14 games at an average of 55 but his strike-rate of 129 left a lot to be desired and one might argue that it cost KXIP dearly in a few close games that they eventually lost.

MS Dhoni- 5/10

Well! It’s surely 2020 when a champion leader like MS Dhoni gets just four points for his exploits as both captains as well as a batsman in the IPL.

MSD looked a pale shadow of himself this season and his fortunes mirrored with that of CSK’s.  While he failed to turn up the heat with his bat- 200 runs in 14 innings at an average of 25 and a strike-rate of 116.28- it was his continued reluctance in dropping senior players despite their repeated failures and his statement ‘we did not see the spark in youngsters’ regarding the young cricketers that really disappointed everyone.

Also Read- IPL 2020: 5 Expensive Players Who Flopped In The Tournament