IPL 2022: 10 captains that will be leading the charge, starting 26th March
Even as the Indian Premier League's most successful captain, Rohit Sharma, returns to lead the Mumbai Indians, the Royal Challengers Bangalore will witness a change of leadership for the first time since 2013, when Virat Kohli decided to step down following last season.
While four franchises have chosen new leaders this season, the two newly-inducted sides have also appointed renowned Indian players as captains.
1. Ravindra Jadeja: Chennai Super Kings
Ravindra Jadeja has taken over as CSK captain from MS Dhoni. The southpaw is only the third player in CSK's history to lead the team. As captain, Dhoni has a 59.6 percent winning percentage. He has led CSK to nine finals, four of which he has won: in 2010, 2011, 2018, and 2021.
2. Rohit Sharma: Mumbai Indians
MI won five titles under Rohit's captaincy in 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2020. In the T20 league, he is the most successful skipper among those who have played in more than six games. He also comes into the competition in excellent form, having led India to victory in all T20I matches since the T20 World Cup 2021.
3. Shreyas Iyer: Kolkata Knight Riders
After releasing Eoin Morgan, KKR went all out for Shreyas, paying Rs. 12.25 crore for his services from the marquee list at the IPL 2022 auction. Shreyas has also helmed a T20 team, having led the Delhi Capitals to their first playoff appearance in seven years in 2019. The following season, he went one better, finishing second.
4. Faf du Plessis: Royal Challengers Bangalore
Kohli's captaincy is handed over to du Plessis. RCB have won 64 of its 140 matches under Kohli, while losing 69. The right-hander, who cost Rs. 7 crore, was instrumental in CSK's title success in 2021, scoring 633 runs to rank second on the team. In IPL 2020, du Plessis was also the leading run-scorer for Chennai.
Despite the fact that du Plessis is taking on a leadership role in the IPL for the first time, he has guided South Africa to success in the limited-overs format on many occasions between 2012 and 2019, with a 63.51 percent success rate in Twenty20 Internationals.
5. Rishabh Pant: Delhi Capitals
After Shreyas suffered an injury, the powerful middle-order batter took his place. Pant's career has progressed steadily since then. In his first and only season as captain, he guided DC to nine wins in 16 games (2021).
6. Kane Williamson: Sunrisers Hyderabad
Williamson will skipper the IPL full-time for the first time in 2022. After leading New Zealand to the T20 World Cup final last year, Williamson will be hoping to put behind him the ghosts of IPL 2021, when his team finished at the bottom of the league. He has led the team in 33 games, winning 16 and losing the same number.
7. Sanju Samson: Rajasthan Royals
Despite a poor season last year, Rajasthan has decided to stick with Samson. Samson, who became the first player to hit a century on his captaincy debut, has to improve his consistency and, as a result, score more runs for the team.
8. Mayank Agarwal: Punjab Kings
Rajasthan has decided to remain with Samson after a dismal season last year. Samson, who made history by becoming the first player to score a century on his captaincy debut, needs to enhance his consistency in order to score more runs for the club.
9. KL Rahul: Lucknow Super Giants
Although his captaincy records aren't particularly impressive, his batting average of 59 is the best by an IPL captain.
10. Hardik Pandya: Gujarat Titans
Hardik has never been in charge of a group before. Furthermore, the Gujarat captain's form is still being scrutinized as he struggles to recover from a back niggle. It's also unclear whether he'll be rolling his arms this season.
