OPINION
Follow UsCaptaincy did not turn out to be Ravindra Jadeja's cup of tea. After being announced as Chennai Super Kings' skipper ahead of IPL 2022, the Saurashtra allrounder struggled in his new role as a skipper and as a player. Just after eight games, where CSK lost six matches and won two, Jadeja has handed over the responsibility back to MS Dhoni for the rest of the season.
Captaincy changes are not uncommon in IPL history. Unfortunate injuries and a string of poor results have often led team management to ring in the changes. We take a look at those instances.
2021 - SRH - David Warner to Kane Williamson
SRH endured a terrible run of results in the 2021 edition as they began the season with five losses and a win to remain bottom of the table. Warner, who led SRH to the title in 2016, was their top scorer in those matches and notched up two fifties. However, the team morale was at an all-time low and Warner's strike rates were not that great. This prompted the team management to boot him off the captaincy and also a place in the playing XI. For most of the second leg in the UAE, the Australian was not seen in the dugout, but in the pavilion, as it was evident that the relationship had soured by then. Kane Williamson took over, but that did not change SRH's fate as they finished at the bottom of the table with 11 losses and three wins.
2020 - KKR - Dinesh Karthik to Eoin Morgan
Dinesh Karthik served as KKR's captain for two seasons after Gautam Gambhir left the franchise for Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) in 2018. His overall record stood at 19 wins and 18 losses with a win percentage of 51.3. Karthik's tenure during the 2020 season was going following a similar ratio as KKR won four and lost three. The two-time champions decided it was high time and made a change to hand the baton to Eoin Morgan, who was fresh off lifting the 2019 ODI World Cup with England. The change was a bit positive for KKR as they narrowly missed out on a playoff spot by finishing fifth in the table.
2019 - RR - Ajinkya Rahane to Steve Smith
Rahane's time as Rajasthan Royals' captain was a rough one. After being named as the team's captain in 2018, the Mumbaikar lost 15 and won nine matches. Seven of these wins came in the 2018 season when RR qualified for the playoffs. But the 2019 season was a different story as the team lost seven of their nine matches, while Rahane's form as the opener dwindled. He scored 203 runs at a strike rate of 131, but the team's performances nosedived. Steve Smith, not for the first time, took over the captaincy from the Indian, having led the now-defunct Pune franchise to the final in 2017 that was led by Dhoni in 2016. RR's form did improve as they won four of their final five matches but it was not enough. They finished second from the bottom thanks to a better NRR than bottom-placed RCB.
2018 - DD - Gautam Gambhir to Shreyas Iyer
Gautam Gambhir is a self-aware man who always understood where he stood as a player and as a captain. The lefthander was at the helm when KKR won the title in 2012 and 2014. But when he moved to Delhi Daredevils in 2018 and was made the captain, it was clear he was not enjoying his game to the fullest. Delhi lost four of their opening five matches and were at the bottom of the table, while Gambhir was unable to deliver with the bat. He began well with 55 against Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) but registered scores of 15, 8, 3, 4 in the next four matches. He relinquished the leadership role and handed it over to young Shreyas Iyer, who found little success that season. DD finished bottom of the table with nine losses and five wins.
2016 - KXIP - David Miller to Murali Vijay
Kings XI Punjab were going through a transition after reaching the final in the 2014 season. After finishing bottom of the table in 2015, the team went through another lukewarm auction were their top buys were Mohit Sharma (Rs 6.5 Crore) and Kyle Abbott (Rs 2.1 Crore). They spent the least in the auction and bought 10 players. David Miller, the only bright spot in the miserable 2015 edition, was named captain ahead of the season. However, this did not work out for them as they lost five of their opening six matches in the tournament. Miller, despite his best efforts, managed just 76 runs from six innings. Murali Vijay, one of the seniors in the team, took over the captaincy for the rest of the season. The change didn't matter much as KXIP lost 10 of their 14 matches to finish bottom for the second season in a row.
2015 - RR - Shane Watson and Steve Smith
RR had a fruitful season in 2015, but the captain's role was a hot potato between Australians Shane Watson and Steven Smith. Watson, who was supposed to lead the side, was sidelined for the first four matches due to an injury. Stand-in skipper Smith led the side to four wins on the trot before handing it over to Watson, under whom the team slumped to four defeats in the next six matches. The team management handed back the captaincy to Smith for the remainder of the season as RR went on to seal a playoff spot.
2014 - SRH - Shikhar Dhawan to Darren Sammy
After reaching the playoffs in the 2013 season, SRH announced Shikhar Dhawan as their captain for the new season in 2014. It was a mixed bag for the stylish left-hander as the team registered six defeats and four wins in the first 10 matches under him. With their playoffs chances in jeopardy, SRH management decided to promote West Indies allrounder Darren Sammy to the captain's role for the remaining three matches. Though the intentions were noble from the hierarchy, Sammy's captaincy was a 50-50. Two defeats against KKR were sandwiched between wins over RCB and CSK as SRH finished well below the playoffs spots in sixth.
2013 - MI - Ricky Ponting to Rohit Sharma
Mumbai Indians announced Australian legend, Ricky Ponting, as their captain for the season, as he took over from Sachin Tendulkar. Ponting, the most successful captain in the limited-overs cricket, led MI for five matches, where they lost two and won three. However, Ponting was suffering with the bat. Opening alongside Tendulkar, Ponting was able to muster only 75 runs from five innings. He stepped aside from the role as the team management decided to hand it over to 24-year-old Rohit Sharma and the rest is history.
2012-13 - Deccan Chargers and SRH - Kumar Sangakkara and Cameron White
Deccan Chargers, champions of the 2010 editions, opted for a dual captaincy role for their 2012 season with Kumar Sangakkara and Cameron White sharing responsibility according to the team composition. It allowed the team to field their best XI without the dilemma of fixing one overseas spot for either of them. The strategy backfired. Chargers lost 11 of their 16 matches (IPL was a nine-team tournament then) and finished just above Pune Warriors.
Following their take over in 2013 by Sun Network Group and changing their name to Sunrisers Hyderabad, the team retained Sangakkara and White to go with the same strategy. This time though, the two-pronged approach was a success as SRH reached the playoffs with 10 wins from their 16 matches.
Over the course of two seasons, Sangakkara captained the side in 21 matches with a win percentage of 38 while White led in 11 matches and six of them.
