IPL: 5 Teams that should change their captains ahead of the next season

Unlike most other sports, in cricket, the captain is always under the scanner. The decisions he makes, his tactics on and off the field, his planning, everything comes into question. Hence, the pressure on a captain in cricket is way more than any other sport.

The 12th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is coming to a close with only a couple of games remaining. This season has shown a lot of up and down moments of various teams and captains, in particular. Teams that have failed to live up to expectation have come under the scanner with quite a bit of fingers pointed at their captains.

While there have hardly been any questions on MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma with both Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Mumbai Indians (MI) doing well, other captains did come under scrutiny. At the end of every season is the time to start building towards the next season.

Hence, here we look at five teams that should change their captain for the IPL 2020:

1. Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB)

There have been calls for Virat Kohli stepping down from captaincy from various corners. There is a general perception that leading India for almost 9-10 months in a year can be mentally exhausting and hence, he can be given a break from captaincy in the IPL.

RCB have failed to make it to the playoffs for three seasons in a row now. They stormed into the top four last time in 2016. Moreover, after Kohli took over as permanent RCB skipper, the Bangalore-based franchise has reached the top-four just twice since 2011.

Some of Kohli’s tactics and decisions have raised massive question marks. Some of the team selections were also bizarre. There is a notion that Kohli often needs suggestions on the field. In fact, in a couple of games, Ashish Nehra was also instructing and suggesting a few things from the dugout. Hence, a change in captaincy may just bring in a change of fortunes as well.

2. Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)

When the team is winning, there are hardly any questions pointed at the skipper. Most things seem rosy and smooth. However, once things go downhill and tend to fall apart that’s when all the finger-pointing starts. That’s what seems to have happened with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Dinesh Karthik.

When KKR was on a winning spree at the start of this season, Karthik’s leadership was never in question. Even last year, despite the limitations of the squad, he had led them to the playoffs. However, once the team started losing and went down six games in a row, things fell apart. Dinesh Karthik was very animated in a few games, giving his team a stick (maybe) for the way things panned out and trying to motivate them.

However, there were serious questions raised on Karthik’s captaincy towards the back half of this season. Some of his decisions created a lot of stir and it did affect KKR’s qualification in the end. Thus, we might well see a change. There aren’t a lot of captaincy options in the squad at the moment. But KKR could go hard in the auctions for a player who they feel can be potential captain.

3. Rajasthan Royals (RR)

Rajasthan Royals have always been a team which punches above their weight. They’ve barely had any big superstars. However, since their return last year, a lot seems to have changed. They spend big money in the auction and they have big stars of the modern era. However, they failed big time this season.

Ajinkya Rahane was the skipper for the first half. But with results not going their way, Steve Smith was given the reins. Fortunes did change as RR won more in the second half but the impact of the first half was such that they couldn’t make it to the playoffs.

The interesting part came when Smith was unavailable in the final league game. RR went back to Rahane when they could’ve tried someone else. The likes of Sanju Samson or even a Shreyas Gopal, both of whom did well this season, could’ve given the responsibility They could’ve taken a punt as it was the final game of the season anyway. Hence, RR need to assign a permanent skipper for next year.

4. Kings XI Punjab (KXIP)

For two seasons now, Kings XI Punjab have followed a similar script. They start big and look like a force before fading away in the second half of the tournament. Last year, they won five out of their first six games before winning just one more game in the remaining matches.

This year was not too different. In the first six games, they emerged victorious in four of them before winning only two out of the remaining eight. Ravichandran Ashwin has been unpredictable as captain but he might’ve gone a touch too far with his unpredictable nature. In fact, KXIP never played the same XI in any of the 14 games this season.

Ashwin might be a thinking and an astute cricketer but he hasn’t cracked the captaincy code. Maybe KXIP need to look at some like KL Rahul who has done really well over the last couple of seasons. But they definitely need a change in captaincy.

5. Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH)

You might be wondering why Sunrisers Hyderabad. There’s absolutely no doubt that Kane Williamson is a brilliant leader. He reads the game well, manages his resources well and tends to get the best of the players. However, there are a couple of reasons why SRH may switch captains.

First, Kane Williamson may not warrant a place in the playing XI straightaway. Williamson had a terrific last year but it was in the absence of a certain David Warner that he came in and did a wonderful job, both as captain and batsman. However, his form this year faded away and also, he is best suited to bat at the top of the order and with SRH’s top three packed, there’s little room for him. Also, as was the case this season, it also kept the likes of Mohammad Nabi and Shakib Al Hasan on the bench more often when Williamson played.

Second, Warner is SRH’s icon player. The connect that Warner has developed with the franchise, fans and the city is on another level. The argument might be that Australia have banned Warner from captaincy and why should SRH hand it over to him.

However, it is a little-known fact that Warner has one of the sharpest cricketing minds in the modern era. He inspirationally led SRH to the title in 2016 and led spectacularly from the front. Hence, we might see a change in captains for SRH as well next year.

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