LISTICLE
Follow UsThe Indian Premier League (IPL) teams submitted their retention list on November 1. It opened a Pandora's box of permutations and combinations. Most important were the possibilities of teams going in for certain players, especially overseas ones, for their captaincy skills along with usual traits of batting, bowling or all-round play.
Here’s a list of the top five overseas players that could be potential contenders for captaining an IPL side in the 2025 edition and would be sought after in the mega auction on November 24 and 25 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
The South African superstar, who recently led the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, was released by the franchise after they published their retention list, which featured only Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar and Yash Dayal. Thus, du Plessis, who aggregated 438 runs in the last season, is a free agent and up for grabs.
The 40-year-old, who has played 145 matches in the world’s top cricket league, recently led the Saint Lucia Kings in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL), a sister franchise of the IPL side Punjab Kings.
Where can Faf go and Why?
Thus, the Punjab side, which retained only Shashank Singh and Prabhsimran Singh, is now looking for a captain. Since du Plessis is already connected with them through CPL, it is most likely that the man with 4,571 IPL runs will be favoured by the newly appointed coaching staff, headed by Australia’s Ricky Ponting.
Faf du Plessis’ record in T20 as captain:
Matches- 185, Wins- 98, Losses- 81
Since we are already discussing Ponting, who moved from Delhi Capitals, won the Major League Cricket (MLC) title with Washington Freedom and is now back in the IPL with Punjab Kings, the same could become true for Steven Smith.
Where can Smith go and why?
The former Australia captain, who was also released by Capitals in 2023 and was unable to find a team for the 2024 IPL, did great to win the MLC as skipper of the Freedom side with Ponting as his coach.
The Aussie duo will be looking to replicate in the IPL what they achieved in MLC. The Punjab team would be attracted by Smith's captaincy and improved performance as a batter.
Since November 2023, Smith has scored 483 runs in 15 T20 innings at an outstanding average of 40.25 and strike rate of 143.8. In all those innings, he has batted as an opener.
Steven Smith’s record in T20 as captain:
Matches- 73, Wins- 45, Losses- 26
South Africa’s captain, who led them to their first-ever ICC World Cup final during the T20 World Cup 2024, was not retained by Sunrisers Hyderabad, who already have a captain option in Pat Cummins.
Since Markram is a born leader, having led them to their first World Cup win at any level during the U-19 World Cup in 2014, he will be eagerly looked at as the leader by all the franchises.
Where can Markarm go and why?
Delhi Capitals, having released Rishabh Pant and Mitchell Marsh, would be looking for a dynamic middle-order batter who can also lead the team, and Markram fits the bill. There is another angle of Hemang Badani being the new Delhi coach, who also was Markram’s coach with Sunrisers Eastern Cape in SA20.
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Markram has been fairly successful as T20 captain, and his batting at number four has been more than decent enough to attract bidders. With 498 runs in 19 innings at an average of 33.2 and a strike rate of 130.4, he does pack a punch.
Aiden Markarm’s record in T20 as captain
Matches- 63, Wins-33, Losses-29
The Delhi Capitals did not retain the Australian T20 captain even as the team released their skipper, Rishabh Pant. This certainly means that both Delhi and Marsh are looking for new challenges.
Where can Mitchell Marsh go and why?
There are two clear options for Marsh - Kolkata Knight Riders and RCB. While KKR have Andre Russell as the pace-bowling all-rounder, Marsh is more of a pure batter who can also give in important overs with the ball. Thus, KKR can get him to be their number four batter and captain.
RCB, on the other hand, have released Cameron Green, du Plessis, and Glenn Maxwell. They are looking at a potential captain who can lead the side for at least the next three years.
Marsh, at the age of 33, has the maturity and experience of leading one of the most talented units in Australia, and the all-around ability to lead from the front in all departments. This is the kind of leader that RCB hasn’t had.
Mitchell Marsh’s record in T20 as captain
Matches-40, Wins-23, Losses-17
Another international T20 captain who was not retained by his team. Jos Buttler and Rajasthan Royals had a perfect relationship, yet he was not retained, meaning that either the English captain or the Royals wanted something different from each other.
Where can Jos Buttler go and why?
Playing each IPL season since debuting in the league in 2016 and having 3,582 runs at an average of 38.11 and a strike rate of 147.53, Buttler seems like the perfect fit to replace Shreyas Iyer as KKR captain. 3,003 of the 34-year-old’s all runs in the IPL have come in 78 innings as an opener at an average of more than 41.
Not only will he be the captain but also fulfil KKR’s perennial desire of having a wicketkeeper-batter who could open the innings and lead the team. This would give the Kolkata side a free hand at choosing the type of players they want at the auction without worrying about three things – wicketkeeping, opening and captaincy.
Jos Buttler’s record in T20 as captain
Matches- 60, Wins- 32, Losses-25
Bonus - Sam Curran
Curran had a phenomenal season as an all-rounder in the Hundred, scoring 201 runs in six innings at an average of 40 and also taking 17 wickets at an average of 10. Along with the Hundred, Curran had a great last 12 months, scoring nearly 1000 runs (995) and taking 56 wickets in 51 games between November 1, 2023 and November 9, 2024.
Where can Sam Curran go and why?
Curran comes into the discussion because Lucknow Super Giants released KL Rahul and have not named Nicholas Pooran as their captain. With no Marcus Stoinis in the set-up, they would want a fast-bowling all-rounder who can also bat at number five and six and give them crucial knocks with the bat apart from the regular four overs.
Curran also seems like the perfect fit to complement LSG’s pacer bowling arsenal which is full of speed merchants, but don’t really have someone who can consistently bowl a particular length at will.
Though Curran has only led in 14 T20s, 11 of which have been in the IPL, it would be interesting to see how his shrewd brain works as he has always been a miser bowler and a great scorer with the bat.
This could be a win-win situation for both parties as the 26-year-old could unearth his potential to be considered as the future England white-ball leader and could be a long-term prospect for LSG as well.
Sam Curran’s record in T20 as captain
Matches- 14, Wins- 7, Losses-7
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