There have been 16 seasons of the Indian Premier League (IPL so far, until 2023. Only 3 times a foreign captain has led his team to the Trophy.
Of course, the major share of the IPL winning captains is occupied by MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma, both of whom have led CSK and MI respectively to 5 IPL titles each. This further shows why an Indian captain is a preferred choice for any franchise owner. It was vindicated once again recently when the Gujarat Titans named Shubman Gill as their new skipper, after Hardik Pandya left for MI, instead of more experienced players in Kane Williamson, Rashid Khan, or David Miller.
Here are the 3 overseas captains who have won the IPL trophy:
Shane Warne – 2008
The IPL 2008 win by Shane Warne’s Rajasthan Royals remains the most unexpected and shock IPL title win. Very much like Leicester City winning the 2016 English Premier League championship. Who doesn’t love the story of an underdog rising and ending with the most glorious dream?
Shane Warne was by then retired from international cricket, but led the young Rajasthan Royals players inspirationally in the inaugural IPL season. RR defeated MS Dhoni’s CSK in the IPL final, against the odds.
Adam Gilchrist – 2009
Right after Warne, his former Australian teammate Adam Gilchrist got his hands on the IPL trophy by leading the Deccan Chargers to the IPL 2009 trophy. Gilchrist marched an incredible turnaround for the Chargers. Chargers had finished at the last position in IPL 2008, but then, under the captaincy of Adam Gilchrist, they went on to win the IPL 2009 title, defeating RCB in the final.
David Warner – 2016 IPL
David Warner now remains the only overseas IPL-winning skipper in the past decade of the IPL when he led Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) to the IPL 2016 title. Warner’s team from 2016 IPL is still being remembered for their solid bowling attack that even defeated RCB, one of the greatest batting teams in all IPL, in the final, that too at the Chinnaswamy stadium.
