Mumbai Indians- 4-time winners – Seven IPL captains
The most successful franchise in the history of the IPL has seen it being captained by 7 IPL captains so far. The first edition alone saw 3 captains. With the original captain Tendulkar missing the first few games through injury, Harbhajan Singh was given the saddle of the team. His stint was short-lived though as he got embroiled in an off-field scuffle and was banned for the remainder of the tournament, this got in former South African great Shaun Pollock who led in four games. With the original captain Tendulkar back in the team, the franchisee did not see a huge change till 2011; Tendulkar enjoyed a 58% success record with the team and taking the team to the final of the 2010 tournament. Harbhajan Singh was next given the chance to lead the team without much success in the IPL but he managed to lead Mumbai to its first champions league win in 2011.
Also Read: IPL 2020: Backup captains for all eight franchises
Ricky Ponting has entrusted the task of delivering the team with its first title in 2013 but midway through the tournament he made way for the next captain due to lack of form and results. Rohit Sharma then became the IPL captain and has since been at the helm which has seen him win four IPL titles (2013, 2015, 2017, and 2019) and one champion’s league (2013). West Indian all-rounders Bravo and Pollard have both captained the team on one occasion each.
Chennai Super Kings – 3 Time Winners- 2 captains
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Chennai super kings are perhaps the only team to have an enviable record of not only having a set line up each time but also winning the IPL thrice and having just used two captains. Dhoni has led Chennai with an iron fist and has made it a consistent ream which is always in the running for the playoffs and the title. His captaincy record speaks for itself as he won the title thrice in (2010, 2011 and 2018) and also led to the finals thrice and playoffs twice. In the absence of the regular captain, the job is being handled by Suresh Raina who himself has been with the team since the start of the tournament. Chennai are the only team to have not tinkered with the playing management and have been rewarded with a consistent run by a team which has a settled look to it top to bottom.
Kolkata Knight Riders- 2 time winners and four captains
Kolkata knight riders are perhaps one of the most glamorous teams of the tournament with the most diehard and passionate supporters ever seen. The start of the tournament in 2008 saw KKR take the stage and set it on fire by blitzing RCB by a huge margin. Kolkata though had faced a few problems in the first three years of the tournament as the captaincy was rotated between Ganguly and McCullum. The year 2011 saw that change as the management bought in Gautam Gambhir to be their skipper and he paid them back by winning the tournament twice in (2012, and 2014). After leading the team for 7 years, Gambhir left the franchisee and was replaced by Dinesh Karthik as the captain since the last two editions. The first IPL of this decade will see him continue his role as the skipper of the team trying to lead them on to a possible third title.
Rajasthan Royals – Winners 2008 IPL and 5 captains
Shane Warne as a skipper was everything the IPL needed, motivational, and unique. His captaincy in the first season is something to be studied as a case study because he took a team that was considered weak and nowhere given a chance to the pinnacle of success. Warne had reached the promised land and given a few national team players who turned to be polished gems. He led the Royals in 55 games with one trophy in 2008. Rajasthan has seen two more Australians lead the side with former all-rounder Shane Watson leading them in 24 games while Steve smith led them in 17 games. The pink city team also has seen two Indian players lead them with former great Rahul Dravid and current Indian test match vice-captain Rahane lead them with a certain amount of success, though without winning the title since they win the first tournament in 2008.
Sunrisers Hyderabad – Winners in 2016 and 7 captains
Sunrisers Hyderabad made their IPL debut in the year 2013, even though they are a pretty young team, they have made the league sit up and take notice by being one of the most consistent teams. The initials few years saw a captaincy merry go round which made the team unsettled. Kumar Sangakkara led them in their first-ever game and further captained them in nine games with a 55% success rate, while Cameron white took over and captained them in 8 games with a 62% record. India opener Shikhar Dhawan was the next to the captain with a 41% record in 17 games, while twice T-20 world cup winning captain Darren Sammy also led them in four games with a 50% record. David Warner was given the captaincy in the year 2015 and the very next year with his batting he led them to their first title. Warner though had to miss the 2018 season due to suspension on disciplinary grounds for an incident earlier that year during a test match. His absence paved the way for Kane Williamson who took the chance with both hands and led them to the final of the 2018 tournament. The 2019 edition saw both Williamson and Indian bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar share the duties, but the team management has this year decided to go back to Warner to possibly lead them to a title win again.
Royal Challengers Bangalore – Six captains
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The garden city team is one of the most followed and loved teams in the IPL due to the presence of modern-day great Kohli and Mr.360 AB De Villiers. Even though they have not won the IPL, they have managed to reach the final thrice in 2009, 2011, and 2016. The first year saw them being captained by Rahul Dravid, who could not inspire his team as they finished in the bottom two, the next year the team named its newest entrant Kevin Pietersen as its captain who led them in a couple of games till he had to rejoin England for International duty. This bought to the fore former Indian legend Anil Kumble who led them to a final that year and continued to captain them in the next edition as well where RCB reached the semis. Since then RCB has seen Vettori, Watson, and Kohli as the captains who have led the team in search of their first IPL.
Delhi Daredevils/Capitals – 12 Captains
Delhi has always been a sentimental favorite for many because of the fact that they are the nation’s capital but also for the cricketing fact that they have some talented players who on their day can single handedly turn the course of a game. Delhi Capital as they are known now has seen 12 captains take charge and not one of them has won the IPL title since its beginning. Some of the leading names of the game have led the team but have not been able to inspire them to a title so far. The most successful captain was Virender Sehwag with a 53% success ratio, current captain Shreyas Iyer will be leading a team which will be seeking to win its first championship in this year’s edition.
Kings Xi Punjab- 11 captains
Punjab is the only IPL team which always suffers a midseason title collapse, despite having a very strong team on paper. The IPL franchise has seen 11 captains so far out of which only George Bailey has led them to a final in the 2014 edition. Just like Delhi, the Punjabi outfit has had some leading names play for them and also lead them in the tournament without much success, the team every year buys and refreshes with the best talent in the cricketing scope but the mid-season troubles leave them short of the final four stages of the tournament. KL Rahul will be hoping to change the fortunes of the team as he has been named as the 12th captain of the franchise for this year’s edition.