5 successful IPL captains who were not known for international captaincy before

The Indian Premier League since its inception in the year 2008 has been a great platform for the Indian as well as overseas youngsters to showcase their talents on a big stage. Many of them have gone on to represent their national sides across formats after doing well in IPL. The tagline of the trophy also says “Where Talent Meets Opportunity” and it has truly justified itself as the league has given so many stars to the cricketing world.

But it wasn’t just limited to the young cricketers and several players have found themselves captaining the sides, which was a completely new thing for them. Many of the captains were not recognized leaders before the IPL but when the opportunity presented itself, the unknown talent of their leadership was on the show. The responsibility to lead a side brought out the hidden skills in them.

Here are 5 such players who were not known for international captaincies yet became successful in IPL:

#1 Shane Warne

The legendary leg-spinner was bought by Rajasthan Royals in the first edition of IPL for US$450,000. He was then handed over the responsibility to lead the side that did not have too many big names. The likes of Shane Watson, Yusuf Pathan, Ravindra Jadeja, all were emerging on the scene and the side was filled with youngsters. Graeme Smith and Sohail Tanvir were the amongst the few known international players in the squad.

Warne had played mostly under the captaincy of Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting for Australia. They had a system of nominating the best batsman in the side as the skipper and never really believed in naming a bowler as the captain. Warne certainly had some leadership skills and had a point to prove.

The then 39-year-old was more a mentor in the side than a captain. He guided the youngsters in the team beautifully and showed that he is an able leader who didn’t get a chance to prove himself earlier in his international career. The Australian led the Royals side to victory in its inaugural season and it was the most romantic story in the history of IPL.

Although the side didn’t make it to the playoffs in the next 3 years under his captaincy but the triumph in the first season remains as the hallmark of the league.