Captaincy in any sport is often being touted to bring out either the best or the worst of a player.
There have been a few players who have excelled in their individual performances when they are the captain of their ship; there have also been a few who have succumbed to the extra pressure of expectations when they are leading their sides.
As the IPL 2023 approaches – the tournament will kick-start on March 31 – we look at the performances of the 10 captains when they led the side and when they were not the captain.
In this article, we compare the performances of the IPL 2023 captains when they were and weren’t the captains:
Hardik Pandya (Gujrat Titans):
Photo by Deepak Malik / Sportzpics for IPL
Hardik Pandya led GT to their maiden IPL title in 2022 in what was their debut IPL season. Pandya was released by Mumbai Indians after being at MI for 7 seasons. At GT, as the captain, Pandya promoted himself to numbers 3 and 4 and anchored the innings in comparison to the finisher’s role he had at MI.
In 92 matches as non-captain at MI, he averaged 27 and had a strike rate of 153; in 15 matches as GT’s captain, Hardik averaged 44 with a strike rate of 131. He also bowled better for GT than at MI.
MS Dhoni (Chennai Super Kings)
MS Dhoni has always been CSK’s captain, and he also led Rising Pune Supergiant in the 2016 season before being replaced as the captain by Steve Smith in 2017. Out of his 234 IPL matches, Dhoni played 16 under Steve Smith’s captaincy in 2017 for Pune.
He didn’t have a great season, then, in 2017, averaging 26 at a strike rate of 116. Rest, for CSK, he averages 40 at a strike rate of 136 and has led them to 4 IPL titles.
Rohit Sharma (Mumbai Indians)
Rohit Sharma played for Deccan Chargers in the first three seasons and impressed everyone before joining MI in 2011 and has been with the franchise since, leading them to 5 IPL titles – the most.
Sharma has played a total of 227 IPL matches, 80 of which were as a non-captain, wherein he averaged 32. Then, in his 142 IPL matches as captain, Sharma has a batting average of 28. (Stats courtesy: www.icccricketschedule.com)
Sanju Samson (Rajasthan Royals)
Sanju Samson has batted for two IPL teams – Rajasthan and Delhi in his career from 2013 to 2022. Samson was given the RR captaincy role in 2021.
Of his 138 IPL matches, Samson has led RR in 31 games, wherein he averages 33, while in the rest as a non-captain, Samson averages 27. So clearly, Samson has become a better batsman in T20 cricket in the past two years since he became RR’s skipper.
KL Rahul (Lucknow Super Giants)
KL Rahul started captaining in the IPL from 2020. He led PBKS for two years before switching to LSG in 2022. As just a player or non-captain, KL Rahul played 67 matches as a non-captain, with a batting average of 47 while he averages 56 as a captain in the IPL.
Faf du Plessis (Royal Challengers Bangalore)
Faf du Plessis was bought and appointed as the captain by RCB in 2022. In 16 matches last season as RCB’s captain, Faf du Plessis averaged 31 while in the rest of his IPL career, the former CSK opener averaged 34.
Shikhar Dhawan (Punjab Kings)
Shikhar Dhawan will be leading the Punjab Kings for the first time in IPL 2023. Dhawa has captaincy experience in the IPL when he led SRH in 10 matches, wherein the left-hander averaged only 21. As a non-captain, Dhawan averages 35. So this decision of making Dhawan their captain might be regretted later by PBKS if Dhawan doesn’t perform well.
Shreyas Iyer (Kolkata Knight Riders)
KKR captain Shreyas Iyer had been the captain of Delhi Capitals for three seasons before joining KKR. In his 14 matches as KKR’s captain in IPL 2022, Shreyas Iyer averaged 30, which is close to his overall IPL career average of 31.
Aiden Markram (Sunrisers Hyderabad)
South Africa star Aiden Markram has been appointed as the SRH captain for IPL 2023, taking over from Kane Williamson, who has joined GT. This will be the first time for Markram leading a side in the IPL. In 2 seasons in the IPL, Markram averages 40 with a strike rate of 134.
