5 IPL teams with the most number of captains

#1 Delhi Daredevils – 10 captains

Zaheer has revived Delhi’s fortunes to a certain extent

If Kings XI Punjab are struggling for stability, Delhi Daredevils have completely lost their way. For much of their initial seasons, they were led by either Sehwag or Gambhir and in hindsight, those were their best days as DD finished the first two editions as semi-finalists.

After a couple of off-seasons, Sehwag finally made way for Jayawardene, but with a win percentage of just 36.11%, he was one of the most unsuccessful captains among those who led for more than 15 games.

During this period, several others were given a chance to lead including Dinesh Karthik, James Hopes and Ross Taylor. DD fared so poorly during this period that they decided not to retain even a single player during the 2014 squad overhaul.

In the following seasons, in spite of a completely new team, they continued their poor run. Another set of captains were asked to try their fortunes in the name of David Warner, Kevin Pietersen and JP Duminy. KP lost 10 of the 11 matches he captained which was a record in itself.

Then the captaincy was handed over to Zaheer Khan in the 2016 edition. Daredevils did not qualify for the playoffs but the fans felt that this was their best performance in the last few years. Zaheer will continue to lead the side going into the 2017 season and with nothing to lose, he will look to lead them aggressively.

Apart from his regular duties, an IPL captain has to deal with the pressure from franchise bosses, the weight of his paycheck and a squad that is more diverse than a national team can ever be. The quest for such a leader seems to have ended for a few teams while others are still stuck in the place where they started.