4 of the worst captains in IPL history

We are just weeks away from the 11th edition of the Indian Premier League. T20 is not an easy format for captains and only a select few like MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma, Gautam Gambhir, and Shane Warne have managed to crack the T20 code.

In a game where everything happens really quickly, captains need to think and act on their feet. Even some of the most successful international captains like Virat Kohli, Rahul Dravid, George Bailey, and Brendon McCullum do not have a great captaincy record in the Indian Premier League.

Here in this article, we take a look at the players with the worst captaincy record in IPL history.

Players who captained their side in a minimum of 20 innings have been considered:

#4 Sourav Ganguly

Teams Played: Kolkata Knight Riders, Pune Warriors

Matches: 42; Wins: 17; Losses: 25; Win %: 40.47%

Sourav Ganguly is really a shocking inclusion in this list. Ganguly played the IPL from 2008 to 2012 and captained Kolkata Knight Riders and Pune Warriors. One of the most successful captains of Indian cricket, Ganguly does not have a great record in T20 cricket.

He captained his side on 42 occasions in the IPL and won only 17 games. He has a win percentage of 40.47, which is nowhere close to his ODI captaincy record. The IPL came at the fag end of Ganguly's career and he never mastered the art of it.

#3 Shane Watson

Watson struggled a lot as a captain in IPL

Teams Played: Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore

Matches: 24; Wins: 8; Losses: 13; Tie: 2; Win %: 39.13%

Shane Watson was the star of the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League tournament when he led Rajasthan Royals to the IPL title. After the departure of Shane Warne and Rahul Dravid, Watson was appointed as the captain of the Royals in 2014.

Though he is one of the best T20 all-rounders of all time, he was never known for his captaincy attributes. His 24 game captaincy tenure in the IPL ended in disaster. He failed to take his team to the playoffs in 2014 and quit captaincy in 2015 after a poor start in IPL 8.

He lost 13 out of the 24 games he captained and ended up with a poor win percentage of 39.13%.

#2 Mahela Jayawardene

He was never a great captain in T20 cricket

Teams Played: Kings XI Punjab, Kochi Tuskers Kerala, Delhi Daredevils

Matches: 30; Wins: 10; Losses: 19; Tie: 1; Win %: 35.0%

One of the most successful captains and batsmen in international cricket, Mahela Jayawardene could not replicate his international success in IPL. He led Kings XI Punjab in the 2010 IPL and finished the season in the last position with only 4 wins.

Then he led Kochi Tuskers Kerala in IPL 2011 and did not have much success. He then captained Delhi Daredevils in IPL 2013 and once again finished the tournament in the last position with only 3 wins from 16 games. His IPL captaincy record stands at a dismal win percentage of 35%.

#1 Kumar Sangakkara

Sangakkara's captaincy record in IPL was dismal

Teams Played: Kings XI Punjab, Deccan Chargers, Sunrisers Hyderabad

Matches: 47; Wins: 15; Losses: 30; Tie: 2; Win%: 34.04%

Another Sri Lankan captain who failed at the helm in the IPL. Just like his compatriot, Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara failed to produce the goods as a captain in the IPL. Captaining Kings XI Punjab in IPL 2009, he managed only seven wins from 14 games and failed to take them to the playoffs.

He captained Deccan Chargers in 2012. The team finished second from bottom and only managed 4 wins from 16 games. He then captained Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2013 but was replaced by Cameron White midway through the tournament. He has the worst captaincy record in the IPL for a captain with at least 20 games.