IPL: 5 Indians who can lead franchises in future

The Indian Premier League (IPL) will return on March 31, 2023, with its sixteenth edition. The much-awaited event will kick off with the match between defending champions Gujarat Titans (GT) and four-time title-winners Chennai Super Kings (CSK). In 2022, Hardik Pandya, who took the reins as the captain of GT, impressed viewers by winning the prestigious trophy after beating Sanju Samson-led Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. 

Following Pandya’s potential as a skipper, a lot of Indian cricket team supporters started comparing him with one of Indian cricket's most celebrated captains MS Dhoni. Pandya's success as a skipper in his first year of captaincy can be seen as an inspiration for many upcoming prodigies who could turn up to lead IPL franchises in the future. Indian cricketers are being favoured by IPL franchises for leadership roles to stabilize their teams in the long run.

Delhi Capitals (DC), who rebuilt themselves in 2019, banked on young Rishabh Pant to get positive results. In return, the wicketkeeper batter didn’t disappoint his franchise and delivered a fine performance to consecutively lead Delhi to the knockouts. Following DC’s path, other franchises might also consider handing captaincy to young players in the coming years.

Here are five players who could be seen as IPL captains in the future:

5. Yashasvi Jaiswal 

Rajasthan Royals (RR) player Yashasvi Jaiswal has put up excellent batting performances in the cash-rich league to impress experts and viewers alike. The youngster has delivered numerous match-winning performances for his IPL side as well as his domestic team Mumbai. Jaiswal first broke into the cash-rich league in 2020 but it was his performance in the 2021 edition that cemented his place in the Royals’ squad.

Scoring 249 runs in 10 matches at a remarkable strike rate of 148.21, he grabbed the attention of the RR management. Witnessing the Mumbai player’s fine figures with the bat, Royals didn’t hesitate to retain him for the 2022 edition along with skipper Sanju Samson and Jos Buttler.

For RR, the right-handed batter has notched up 547 runs in 23 matches at a strike rate of 134.72. With his diligence and determination, Jaiswal has achieved a lot in his career and if he continues the same for his IPL franchise, RR might show faith in him to hand over the reins of the team in the upcoming years.