5 Players who were surprisingly made IPL captains

A leader plays a very indispensable role in any aspect of life. And leading a team in the toughest league in the world (IPL) is not a cup of tea for everyone. Indian Premier League has witnessed over 50 captains across 12 seasons. However, not every one of them has been much successful.

We often find franchises investing high to get a good cricketing brain for their team. Many captains have also been appointed due to the injury or poor form of others. While many of such captaincy changes failed to create an impact, others have turned out to be masterstrokes. Let us take a look at some of those ‘lucky’ captains, and the kind of impact that they left.

1. Zaheer Khan (DD)

Fed up of a string of captaincy changes, Delhi Daredevils (now Capitals) decided to play a gamble on 38-year-old Zaheer Khan, who had already retired from international cricket. He remained the captain of the team for 2016 and 2017. Unfortunately, this gamble didn’t work and DD won only 10 of the 23 games that it played under him.

He could not bring a change in team’s fate, and DD finished at 6th spot in both the seasons. However, his numbers do not justify his stint. He organized his team beautifully and gave his best on the field. One big controversy that prevailed throughout his tenure was of choosing a retired player over a young player as a captain.

2. Aaron Finch (PWI)

IPL 2013 was a forgettable season for Pune Warriors India, that could win only 4 of the 16 games they played. However, one of their most peculiar moves of that season came in the form of appointing an inexperienced player in Aaron Finch as the skipper. Actually, Micheal Clarke was the team’s skipper, but an injury forced him to miss the whole season. Thereafter, Angelo Mathews was tried but this move did not pay off.

After this, PWI chose Aaron Finch for the job, ignoring relatively more experienced Ross Taylor and Mitchell Marsh. The move eventually proved to be a blunder, as the team won only two of the 10 games under his leadership. PWI finished 8th of the 9 teams and became defunct in the following year.

3. David Miller (King XI Punjab)

David Miller was named as the captain of KXIP for IPL 2016. The move came as a surprise for all, as KXIP had chosen him over an experienced international captain George Bailey, who had guided Australia team to 2015 WC glory. On the other hand, Miller had led only SA under-19 team and a few domestic matches.

As it had been anticipated, he failed to be successful, neither in captaincy nor in his own batting. Under his leadership, KXIP lost 5 of its first 6 games and he could personally manage only 76 runs. He was soon replaced by Murali Vijay.

4. James Hopes (Delhi Daredevils)

After losing 7 of their first 11 games in IPL 2011, Delhi Daredevils needed a miracle to qualify for the playoffs. They needed to win all the 3 remaining games and had to expect some other results go in their favor. However, they suffered a big blow as their skipper Virendra Sehwag pulled out of those encounters.

​DD appointed James Hopes as their captain for those three matches. Although he had been a regular in the side, he hardly had experience of captaincy before. Also, choosing him over a bunch of experienced players came as a big surprise. As expected, he could not do much, and DD lost two of those remaining three matches, while one of them was abandoned. They finished last on the points table, with just 9 points from 14 matches.

5. Parthiv Patel (Kochi Tuskers Kerala)

Parthiv Patel led KTK once in 2011 in the absence of their regular skipper Mahela Jayawardene. This move came as a surprise, as he was chosen over much more experienced Brendon McCullum, VVS Laxman and Brad Hodge.

KTK lost the match by 11 runs, and Parthiv scored only 6 runs off 7 deliveries. After this, he has never captained any side. However, he is the vice-captain of RCB in 2019 and might get to lead in some game. KTK finished the only season they played with 12 points in 14 matches. They remained 8th on the points table.

~Written by Ayuj Aryan