IPL 2022: Rating all captains in the tournament

Gujarat Titans (GT) enjoyed a great debut season in IPL as they lifted the title in their maiden attempt. The Titans defeated Rajasthan Royals by seven wickets in the final clash at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on 29 May 2022. Hardik Pandya, as the captain of the Gujarat side, stole the show by picking up three crucial wickets along with a steady 34 runs innings off 30 balls during the chase. Apart from Hardik Pandya, Sanju Samson also enjoyed a good season this time as the captain of Rajasthan by leading them to their second-ever final. LSG’s KL Rahul also guided his team to the playoffs in their maiden tournament. On the other hand, several captains like Shreyas Iyer, and Kane Williamson did not have a good season as they failed to guide their teams to the final four. MI’s Rohit Sharma had a disaster season as the side finished last in the table. Here, ratings have been provided of every team’s captains based on their leadership skills throughout the tournament. Rohit Sharma (MI) – 4/10 Rohit Sharma. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) MI fans were buzzing as Rohit Sharma was ready to win the title for Mumbai this year, after building a new core of the team. But, it did not go as planned and Mumbai managed to win only four matches out of 14. It was shocking to see Mumbai losing eight matches in a row before they defeated RR in their ninth match of the season. Rohit Sharma failed to develop a solid playing XI as there were so many changes in the line-up. Coming to the business end of the tournament, he managed to find a decent XI which helped the side to get four wins in the last six matches. As an individual batter, he had a terrible season as he scored only 268 runs in 14 matches at an average of 19.14 only. He failed to register a single 50+ score in the tournament and it also affected his captaincy abilities. MS Dhoni & Ravindra Jadeja (CSK) – 5/10 & 3 /10 MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja. (Photo Source: Twitter) Chennai Super Kings aimed to start a new era under the leadership of Ravindra Jadeja when they appointed him as the new captain. However, this move came out as a complete flop, as the all-rounder failed to show any stable captaincy moves during the tournament. Jadeja led CSK in the first eight matches, out of which CSK won only two times. He also had a bad season with both the bat and ball as he scored only 116 runs in 10 matches alongside taking five wickets. He left captaincy midway through the season and again, the captaincy baton went back to MS Dhoni. CSK fans were hoping for Dhoni’s magic but still, he also failed to guide them to playoffs as he managed only two more wins in the remaining six matches. CSK looked in total disarray as their bowling lineup wasn’t up to the mark compared to other teams. Dhoni tried several changes to identify the best possible XI. But, his moves did not work under such limited options and CSK failed to defend the title. Kane Williamson (SRH) – 5/10 Kane Williamson. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) Kane Williamson was asked to lead the Hyderabad franchise yet again. But, he failed to lead them to the playoffs for consecutive years. The 2016-season champions were decent in the first half and even enjoyed a five-match winning streak. However, they lost momentum afterward and couldn’t come back. Williamson also had a nightmare with the bat as he scored only 216 runs in 13 matches at an average of 19.64. He failed to lead his boys from the front as didn’t rotate the bowlers properly either. Despite his dip in form, he continued to open the innings and that cost the team to get any solid opening stand. He failed to work with his players as a team and that cost them to develop a winning mentality. However, he provided opportunities to youngsters like Umran Malik, and Abhishek Sharma as they came up with flying colors despite the franchise’s not-so-good season. Shreyas Iyer (KKR) – 5.5/10 Shreyas Iyer. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) Kolkata Knight Riders were looking for a captain after releasing Eoin Morgan and hence, they paid a hefty fee of INR 12.25 crore to Shreyas Iyer. He was appointed as the captain of the side, as his captaincy stint with DC impressed everyone. However, the move did not pay off as KKR ended the season with only six wins out of 14 matches. In several situations, the playing XI did not look suitable, and too many changes in their batting line-up cost them. During one of the interactions, Shreyas even hinted that the franchise’s CEO has a say in the team selection but later clarified his statement. As a batter, he had a decent season with the bat by scoring 401 runs in 14 matches at an average of 30.85. He failed to capitalize on some crucial moments which cost them the momentum during the mid-season of the tournament. Mayank Agarwal (PBKS) – 6/10 Mayank Agarwal. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) Punjab Kings looked determined during this season’s mega auction as they bought some match-winners like Liam Livingstone and Kagiso Rabada on their side. Despite being so strong on paper, their newly-made captain, Mayank Agarwal failed to lead them properly to the playoffs (7 wins out of 14). Mayank was found to be more stubborn with his approaches and ideas, as he looked lost in crunchy situations. There didn’t see a Plan B in his bag as he looked inflexible at times. He also failed to motivate his team through his performance as he had a forgettable season with the bat. He scored only 196 runs in 12 innings at an average of 16.33. Notably, he missed a match due to injury as Shikhar Dhawan led the team on that occasion. Overall, skipper Mayank couldn’t do much and his inflexible moves got criticized by fans as that cost them the playoff spot to others. Rishabh Pant (DC) – 7/10 Rishabh Pant. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) After the completion of this year’s mega auction, Delhi Capitals looked like the force to reckon with as a squad. But, Rishabh Pant disappointed Delhi fans by not leading them into the playoffs this time. This franchise just managed to win seven matches out of 14 under the leadership of Pant. In the last league match, they just needed a win over the struggling Mumbai Indians but they failed. Rishabh Pant’s decision of not taking a review against Mumbai’s Tim David came out costly, as Mumbai knocked them out. The DC management team expressed their disappointment over this loss as it was in their hands completely. His review decisions and choice of playing XI got questioned throughout the tournament by the cricket fraternity. Even as a batter, he did not have a good outing this year as he managed to score 340 runs in 13 innings at an average of 30.91. KL Rahul (LSG) – 7.5/10 KL Rahul (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) Another new franchise, Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) appointed KL Rahul as their captain with the hope to get glory in their maiden appearance in the tournament. The LSG management heaped high praises on Rahul’s captaincy abilities before the tournament. This Indian batter managed nine wins out of 14, as LSG finished third in the points table. They were well set to finish at the second spot before RR pushed them back to third by winning their last group match. Rahul failed to guide them to the final as they lost to RCB in the Eliminator in Kolkata. KL Rahul smashed 616 runs in 15 matches at an average of 51.33 and ended the tournament as the second-highest scorer, behind Jos Buttler’s 863 runs. His brilliance with the bat failed again as he failed to grab some crunchy situations to their favor in several matches. Thus, his captaincy skills got criticized during the tournament. Faf du Plessis (RCB) – 8/10 Faf du Plessis. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) RCB was in total disarray when their former captain, Virat Kohli decided to step down as the captain of the franchise after last year’s IPL. During the IPL mega auction, RCB went after the South African batter as they acknowledged his captaincy skills. Faf du Plessis enjoyed a good season as the captain of the franchise, as he took the team up to the Qualifier 2. RCB ended the group stage in fourth place after winning eight matches out of 14. As an individual, he had a decent season with the bat as he bagged 468 runs in 16 matches at an average of 31.2. Du Plessis looked impressive with his strategies as he persisted with players like Virat Kohli and Mohammed Siraj despite their off form. He also provided chances to young talents like Anuj Rawat and Rajat Patidar into the playing XI. Patidar came out as a star man in both the playoff matches for his incredible innings. Sanju Samson (RR) – 9/10 Sanju Samson. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) This 27-year-old wicketkeeper-batter from Kerala was under scrutiny as he failed to lead RR to the playoffs last time. Still, the team management stuck with him and that came out as a good result for the franchise. This time, Samson led his team to the final against GT after finishing the group stage at the second spot by winning nine games out of 14. He also contributed with his bat as he scored 458 runs in 17 matches. He scored these runs at an average of 28.62 and a strike rate of 146.79. His captaincy skills were praised as well. Samson came up with some crucial decisions during the season like the usage of Ravichandran Ashwin as a floater in the batting line-up. He also gave opportunities to players like Obed McCoy to showcase their talent. Hardik Pandya (GT) – 9.5/10 Hardik Pandya vs RR. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) Hardik Pandya was a surprise choice when this new franchise appointed him as the leader of the group. He hadn’t led any side since his U16 days. Still, the Gujarat Titans management put faith in him and that paid off, as he guided GT to the trophy in their first-ever attempt. His strategies of bowling changes and field setting worked well for the franchise. He helped Gujarat to finish at the top of the table after the completion of the group stage matches. He won 10 matches out of 14, more than any other team. Then, he managed to win both Qualifier 1 and the final by guiding his players efficiently. He led his troops from the front as he scored 487 runs in 15 matches along with eight crucial wickets in 10 innings. Players like Rahul Tewatia and David Miller praised his captaincy style, as players were more secure and their views also got prioritized.

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IPL 2022: Rating all captains in the tournament

Hardik Pandya, being the captain of Gujarat Titans, led his franchise to IPL triumph in their debut season.

Shreyas Iyer (KKR) – 5.5/10

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