Captaining a cricket team at any level is a proud moment for a player. Leading a side in the Indian Premier League is a matter of great pride for IPL is the biggest, richest, grandest T20 league in the world.
The likes of MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma, Gautam Gambhir, Shane Warne, Adam Gilchrist, David Warner are regarded as the best captains the league has seen as they led their sides to the title. However, there have been some players how most fans don’t remember as captains.
Here are 5 lesser-known captains in the IPL:
James Hopes
Former Australia all-rounder James Hopes led the Delhi Daredevils (now Capitals) team in 3 matches during the 2011 season when regular skipper Virender Sehwag was injured. Under Hopes, Delhi won two games while one match was washed out. However, that turned out to be Hopes’ last IPL season and he played in the league again.
Karun Nair
India’s second Test triple centurion, Karun Nair, hasn’t had a prolific IPL career with the bat. But he did get to lead the Delhi team during the 2017 season for 3 games when regular captain Zaheer Khan was injured. Nair was seen as a future skipper then and hence was trusted with the leadership role. Under Nair, Delhi won 2 games while losing one.
Angelo Mathews
Former Sri Lankan captain and a premier all-rounder at the time, Angelo Mathews was given the captaincy reins of the Pune Warriors team in 2013. After the side lost 4 of their first 5 matches, he was scrapped of the leadership position, and Aaron Finch took over, another cricketer who fans don’t really remember captaining much in the IPL.
Cameron White
Former Australian cricketer Cameron White has led the Deccan Chargers and the Sunrisers Hyderabad teams in the IPL between 2011 to 2013. White captained the two Hyderabad franchises in 12 games, White won 7 matches while had to face defeats in five.
Daren Sammy
Despite being a two-time T20 World Cup-winning captain, Daren Sammy never was appointed as the full-time skipper of any IPL franchise. He did, however, captained the Sunrisers Hyderabad team for 4 games in IPL 2014 replacing Shikhar Dhawan as the skipper in the last four league games; SRH won two of those and lose two.
