IPL 2018: Captaincy Analysis of all teams this season

The 2018 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has provided the fans with some great entertainment. It has lived up to more than what was expected. Without a doubt, it was more promising and entertaining that most of the previous editions of the league.

The Chennai Super Kings will be locking horns with the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the grand finale of the season. The team that will get their hands on the silverware will be decided tonight. As we approach the close of the season, let us analyse the captaincy analysis and rating of each of the teams.

1. Sunrisers Hyderabad – 9.5/10

The Sunrisers have had a terrific season this year. They weren’t really much of expectations on them to go the distance especially after the loss of David Warner. But, they rose up the occasion brilliantly and were exceptional. SRH reaching the finals was only possible due to a collective team effort. There isn’t any star performer for them except for Kane Williamson this season.

Captaincy Analysis: Captain Kane was brilliant this season. He has grabbed the opportunities he had with both the hands. He has done so well that he has put the management in doubt if they will have to revert back to David Warner for the skippers’ role next season.

2. Chennai Super Kings – 9/10

Unlike the Sunrisers Hyderabad, Chennai’s performances this year were dominated by the individual performances from the players. They found new match winners in every game who helped the team get past the winning line. Although their bowling was a let down initially, they found momentum at the right time to help them get through to the finals.

Captaincy Analysis: After being sacked as the captain last year, MS Dhoni has come back strong this year. Although there were a few questionable decisions from him, it all ends well with a team that does well. He was terrific with the bat and led the team beautifully. It was a treat for the fans to watch their ‘Thala’ back leading the men in yellow.

3. Kolkata Knight Riders – 8/10

Although Kolkata ended third on the points table, their performances as a team weren’t really there. They looked supreme when they were winning games. But when they lost the games, the team environment didn’t really look positive. They either collapsed with the bat and their bowlers conceded one too many runs.

Captaincy Analysis: Dinesh Karthik has to be commended for his captaincy this year. He has backed the youngsters to the core and provided them with quite a few opportunities. He has to lauded for his efforts although he has made a few errors at times. One has to keep in mind that this is also his first time as a captain in IPL.

4. Rajasthan Royals – 7/10

The Rajasthan Royals were the lucky team in the IPL. All the results were in their favour and they got into the playoffs. But, they didn’t really look well gelled together initially during the losses. As a team, they failed to execute their plans as required. They struggled to get their combinations right and never found it easy during the course of the tournament.

Captaincy Analysis: Ajinkya Rahane took over the side due to the unavailability of Steve Smith. Rahane has tried out various combinations before finding the best one. He hasn’t been as impressive as others and this reflected in his batting as well.

5. Mumbai Indians – 7.5/10

Mumbai Indians have started slowly, as usual, this year. However, they couldn’t weave the magi this time around like they did earlier. The Mumbai Indians have always looked good together and share a very good bonding and brotherhood. It was seen in their unique activities like the ‘Emoji’ uniform the defaulters wore. They always tried to stay positive even during defeats.

Captaincy analysis: Rohit Sharma was as always brilliant with his captaincy tactics. Although he didn’t have a great season with the bat, that did not reflect in his captaincy much.

6. Royal Challengers Bangalore – 6.5/10

RCB didn’t have the best of the seasons despite having a good team this team. The management is to be blamed here and they haven’t really shown the kind of character Virat Kohli wishes for his team to display on the field. The team has let many games slip from the verges of victory which is not good signs for a team as good as RCB.

Captaincy Analysis: Virat Kohli has disappointed quite a bit as the skipper of the side initially. However, he did some catching up later on in the tournament but wasn’t as good as he usually is. Probably, the fatigue could have affected his captaincy slightly.

7. Kings XI Punjab – 5.5/10

Kings XI Punjab in the second half of the season showed us how a good team shouldn’t be like. They looked obvious to be making it to the playoffs after the kind of start that they’ve got. But they put all their efforts to waste losing seven out of the eight games and couldn’t come together as a team. At one stage, it appeared as if KL Rahul, Mujeeb and Andrew Tye were the only players in the XI.

Captaincy Analysis: A captain’s real test is when his team doesn’t perform well. Ashwin has failed terribly in this kind of a situation and lacked the experience to get the team going. He kept changing and chopping and ended as a huge disappointment.

8. Delhi Daredevils – 4.5/10

Delhi Daredevils have had troubles right from the beginning of the tournament. They lost matches on the trot and as a result, their skipper Gautam Gambhir stepped down from the captaincy. They failed to identify the talent in the side and the season ended as quite a disappointment for them.

Captaincy Analysis: Gautam Gambhir didn’t do much wrong as the skipper of the side. His players didn’t really perform up to the mark increasing the pressure on him. Shreyas Iyer, who took over, later on, was decent enough and did well.