IPL 2016: Rating the captaincy of the IPL skippers so far

The IPL season 9 is still in its early days but we have already got to see some wonderful matches, close encounters and mouth-watering clashes -- the IPL is showing once again why it is one of the most popular T20 leagues in the world right now.

Season 9 has seen some structural upheaval with two new franchises coming in to replace the now temporarily defunct CSK and RR. How are the new teams performing under two new captains?

How have the captains performed individually and when it comes to shepherding their teams? Let us take a look at the performances of the eight IPL captains so far this season.

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Gautam Gambhir (Kolkata Knight Riders)

The Kolkata Knight Riders have started this season very well and they now sit second on the table after five games. The Kolkata outfit need to thank their skipper Gautam Gambhir, who has changed the fortunes of the side radically ever since he has taken over. Over the years, KKR have become one of the most consistent teams in the IPL.

KKR's success can be attributed to the fact that they have shown faith in their players and managed to hold on to a core group of good performers. They have a good group of Indian players who have done wonders for the franchise over the years.

And Gambhir himself needs to take much of the credit for having brought about the transition. He has worked out his stance and put in a lot of effort to be in good touch with the bat. So far, he has been one of the top run-getters in this season of the IPL.

Gambhir hates losing and he instils in the team a quiet confidence. At the same time, he is an active and aggressive captain who always stays involved on the field.

“It is still the start of the tournament, we need to keep continuing the way what we have done in the last five games, because we have realised what has happened last year, we were right at the top of the table till the 12th game, suddenly we did not qualify for the playoffs, so we have got to learn from the mistakes, hopefully the way we have started we can continue the same way, winning is a habit, it's a good habit to have," Gambhir said.

Rating: 9.5/10

Suresh Raina (Gujarat Lions)

The surprising package in this year's IPL so far have been the Gujarat Lions who now have 5 wins from 6 matches. Suresh Raina has shown that he has come of age and has been spot on with his captaincy in the tournament.

His team-mates Praveen Kumar and Brendon McCullum, in particular, have been eloquent in their praise for Raina's captaincy.

"I think in these first two games; his captaincy has been outstanding. In both the games, we got off to a rough start with the ball, but he has remained calm, composed under pressure and made sound decisions," McCullum told iplt20.com

"He has been able to motivate the team when the game is on the line and it is not an easy skill to do. His leadership includes other leaders as well, it works well with the coach and he is always trying to create an environment and culture for the group."

Raina who has finally emerged from the shadow of MS Dhoni as a captain has credited his former CSK skipper for having taught him the tricks of trade.

"I have spent a lot of time with MS over the last 10-15 years and I have seen how he goes about his job as a captain before and during a game. I keep talking to him and asking him questions in the field, standing at slip or point as to what he is thinking and why he made a particular move. He is so calm under pressure," Raina said.

Rating: 9/10

Zaheer Khan (Delhi Daredevils)

One franchise that disappointed the fans in the last few seasons are the Delhi Daredevils. The DD let go of some of their big stars and languished in mediocrity for a few seasons. But the appointment of Zaheer Khan as the captain and Rahul Dravid as the mentor seems to have changed their fortunes now.

Zaheer seems to be enjoying the responsibility of leading the side and is showing amazing alacrity on the field. He has been bowling really well up front and it has been tough to score runs off him. As a captain, he always loves nurturing youngsters and gets a word in whenever the bowler is ready for his run-up.

The DD have a good group this time, comprising the likes of Quinton de Kock, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Imran Tahir, Amir Mishra, Chris Morris and Zaheer Khan himself. And even when the team is not doing well, Zaheer always has a word of encouragement for the boys which seems to be working wonders for the team as of now.

Praising the energy of his young players, Zaheer said, "I'm just happy with the way the boys have carried themselves on the field. The way the bowlers showed intent of taking wickets," he said.

"I'm very very happy with the energy and intensity showed by the boys on the field. This is how we're going to approach the season. This is a young team. This energy is we're looking at this format. We will create opportunities."

The Zaheer-Dravid partnership seems to be doing really as of now. Only time will tell if under their stewardship DD can go the distance this season.

Rating: 8/10

David Warner (Sunrisers Hyderabad)

No amount of praise is enough for what David Warner has done for the Sunrisers Hyderabad so far this season. The dashing southpaw has been the mainstay of the SRH batting order, having amassed an impressive 294 runs from five matches.

The responsibility lies squarely on Warner's shoulders at a time when Shikhar Dhawan has struggled for runs. Henriques, Ojha and Morgan have all made useful contributions but have not done enough to significantly contribute to a victory.

It is Warner, however, who has been carrying the side almost single-handedly. He is taking confidence from his good run of form with the bat and has been equally great as the skipper, encouraging his side consistently.

Warner is particularly pleased with Dhawan re-discovering some form and the stellar performances of Mustafizur Rahman who has been the co-architect of SRH's success this season.

“At the moment, in the last two games, he is sort of finding the form that we know Shikhar can be in. He is hitting the ball well. We are working together again at the top of the order. When you can get a good partnership going at the top of the order, it helps a lot,” Warner said.

“I have said before, in the past, that if our bowlers bowl well, it makes our job easier. Our bowlers adapted very well. I could not have asked for a better game from the bowlers… They did a fantastic job,” he said.

Warner is doing all he can, as the captain and the others need to follow suit to lend him some support. The SRH are on a high now and they might ride the success as long as it lasts.

Rating: 8.5/10

Rohit Sharma (Mumbai Indians)

The Mumbai Indians, as always, have got off to a poor start this season by losing a few matches cheaply. But there are early signs of them rectifying their mistakes and trying to make a comeback.

Their batting has been a problem of late with the middle order suffering a collapse too often. Captain Rohit Sharma, who has been in decent form in the tournament so far, conceded that they have to put more runs on the board.

"We did not score enough runs in all the three games that we lost. The only game we won, we chased 180-plus and one of the batsmen batted through the innings," Rohit said, stressing that the top order has been a let-down.

Rohit's own form has been good while chasing but he has struggled while batting first so far. Losing the likes of Lendl Simmons and Lasith Malinga was also a big blow for the side. However, Rohit has been pro-active with the bowling changes so far, juggling his bowlers quite smartly.

Their fast bowling trio of Tim Southee, Mitchell McClenaghan and Jasprit Bumrah have been in good form. All three have been spot on with their death-bowling and have also been taking wickets. Their batting, however, looks weak on paper which means they will be heavily dependent on their captain Rohit Sharma.

There is not a lot wrong that Rohit has done till now. But the expectations on him are greater and with the team they have got, he knows they will have to play out of their skins to make it to the playoffs.

Rating: 6.5/10

Virat Kohli (Royal Challengers Bangalore)

The Royal Challengers Bangalore came to this edition of the IPL as clear favourites. CSK were no longer in the mix and with a star-studded squad that boasted of a top four of Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and Shane Watson, it was time for RCB to be the franchise to dominate the IPL.

Sadly, that has not been the case so far. There is nothing that Virat Kohli can do to arrest RCB's slide as of now. Always passionate as a player, Kohli as the skipper seems to be doing all he can to inject his infectious spirit in the team. And as a player, he seems to be scoring for fun.

But after their poor run of form, some basic flaws have surfaced about the constitution of the RCB squad. The team seems to go by the four stellar names at the top of the order only with no backup players to chip in. As a batting unit, they are too dependent on Kohli and AB de Villiers to score heavily every time.

The bowling seems to be the biggest problem as of now. Mitchell Starc's injury was a big blow which left them with no reliable pacer to go in with, though Chris Jordan has been named as his replacement. Rasool, Abdulla and Chahal have all failed to impress and take up the mantle of the frontline spinner so far.

The RCB could have done better if they had strengthened their squad by adding at least one more good Indian batsman or a frontline bowler. At the moment, they are too dependent on their batsmen to win matches single-handedly.

There is absolutely nothing that Kohli can do about the team's poor form. Unless there is a radical change of fortunes, they might just remain paper tigers for this season.

Rating: 6.5/10

MS Dhoni (Rising Pune Supergiants)

If Suresh Raina has been flying high in his debut season as a captain, his former CSK skipper, MS Dhoni is now suffering from contrasting fortunes. The Rising Pune Supergiants have lost 4 out of their 5 matches and are now languishing near the bottom of the table.

Dhoni and Fleming, the partnership that brought CSK so much success over the years, have not been able to replicate the magic so far. And as usual, MS Dhoni is at the receiving end of criticism. He has not performed wonders with the bat so far and has failed to lead from the front.

Moreover, the failures come at a time when Dhoni's captaincy has been repeatedly questioned. Critics have said that Dhoni reacts to situations and does not indulge in pro-active decision-makings. At times, he just lets the game drift. But would it be fair to ask Dhoni to shoulder all the blame for his team's abysmal form so far?

The RPSG are guilty of having too many one-dimensional top order batsmen who are not sloggers per se. Combine that with the fact that their bowling form has been woeful of late and they do not look like a strong side anymore.

Kevin Pietersen, who was effusive in his praise for Dhoni's captaincy also refused to place the blame on him squarely. In his words, every player must captain himself and take responsibility for the performances.

"I actually think that the eleven that take the field have to captain themselves. They have got a responsibility to MS and the coaches to captain themselves and the team. So there might be four 'C's next to certain names in the team but I actually think that in T20 cricket, where every ball is an event, everyone is captain," he said.

Dhoni's captaincy has not been world-class with no out of the box thinking so far. But his team has also let him down.

Rating: 5.5/10

David Miller (Kings XI Punjab)

There was great optimism when David Miller was appointed the captain by the Kings XI Punjab ahead of this new IPL season. The Kings XI franchise hoped that under Miller's captaincy, they would finally turn things around and have a good season.

6 games later, the Punjab franchise sit at the bottom of the table and it seems to be an all too familiar story for them. Miller has not done a great job as a captain so far, leading critics to question if he was indeed the right choice.

Miller is a vital cog in the Kings XI middle order but has failed to fire so far. His devastating power-hitting has not been on display this season and the pressure of captaincy and burden of poor performances seem to be getting to him. In all fairness, the franchise did not have anyone else to turn to as far as captaincy was concerned.

The middle order trio of Marsh, Maxwell and Miller has not fired this season so far. Barring a half-century in the last match, Maxwell has been getting out too cheaply. Vijay and Vohra have been getting them off to good starts but the middle order has failed to capitalise time and again.

On the bowling front, the franchise is too dependent on young Sandeep Sharma. The Kings XI Punjab do not have a great squad and good bench strength - something which has been a perennial problem with them. This is perhaps because they have not been able to match the spending power of some of the other franchises.

This makes them overly dependent on a small core group of stars who need to fire consistently. Miller does not seem to be doing enough to inject fresh enthusiasm in the side. His own form needs to get better soon, otherwise, another dismal season might be on the cards for them.

Rating: 5/10