A captain often forms the fulcrum of any team. It can also be said that a captain is only as good as his team, but an inspirational leader can derive the best out even a relatively mediocre team. A captain has to lead by example and very often the course of a game can be changed by a simple hunch of the captain, hence it becomes imperative for a skipper to win the trust of the captain and make sure that his name is first on the team sheet.
It goes without saying that a captain has to be present at the forefront and has to always be ahead of the game, but for any of this to materialise he should be convinced of his own abilities and his worth. Captaincy becomes a lonely job if the person is not performing and this then affects his decisions.
In the previous seasons of the Indian Premier League there have been instances where the appointed captain has had to ‘drop’ himself to restore and maintain the balance of the team.
We look at 5 such players who benched themselves because they have been under-performing and were not contributing enough.
1) Kumar Sangakkara (Deccan Chargers)
After an ordinary run in IPL 2012, Kumar Sangakkara stepped back and also ‘dropped’ himself as the captain of the now defunct Deccan Chargers. Australian Cameron White stepped in in place of Sangakkara, who had to take this step to make way for four overseas player.
This move did not yield the desired results as Deccan Chargers could never get going in the tournament and most probably the uncertainty in their leadership had a bearing on their performance.
2) Ricky Ponting (Mumbai Indians)
Ricky Ponting came into the Indian Premier League with a lot of hype and aura. He was appointed captain of the franchise and much was expected of the former Aussie great. Ponting opened the batting with Indian maestro Sachin Tendulkar but was not very successful.
Mumbai Indians were struggling in the tournament and Ponting’s own form was a big worry. Hence, he stepped aside and Rohit Sharma took charge of the team midway through the tournament. He was in the background and was a critical part of the think tank. This move worked wonders and Rohit led Mumbai to their maiden IPL title.
3) Shikhar Dhawan (Sunrisers Hyderabad)
Shikhar Dhawan led Sunrisers Hyderabad punched above their weight in IPL 2013, when they finished fourth. The appointment of Dhawan was considered a good move by the management.
However in the following year, Dhawan failed to inspire his team to repeat their perfomance and this also had a bearing on his own personal form. Hence, he was relieved of captaincy duties and West Indian Darren Sammy was appointed the man in-charge.
Few would argue with this decision.
4) Daniel Vettori (Royal Challengers Bangalore)
Arguably the finest left-arm spinner to have played the game, Vettori has strangled opposition batsmen on many ocassions, and thus his mediocre performance with the RCB was very surprising and tough for the team.
To make matters worse, Muttiah Muralitharan was on the bench in place of Vettori and hence calls grew louder to include the Sri Lankan wizard in the squad. Vettori eventually took the tough call and benched himself and handed over the reins to a young Virat Kohli.
RCB went on to win three consecutive matches after this decision, an indication that the move was well thought out.
5) Adam Gilchrist (Kings XI Punjab)
The wicket-keeper batsman was instrumental in the Deccan Chargers victory in IPL 2009. However, his form deserted him when he moved north to captain Punjab. His lacklustre performance impeded the surge of his team and he had to swallow the bitter pill of dropping himself. Fellow Australian David Hussey took over captaincy.
Gilchrist maintained that that this decision was based purely to muster team balance and to acknowledge the batting resource that was warming the benches.
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