MS Dhoni, Chennai Super Kings. Virat Kohli, Royal Challengers Bangalore. The moment you say certain names in an IPL context, they immediately remind you of a particular franchise and their time as captain of that side.
But throughout the course of the nine years of IPL, there have been several captains who captained for a short period of time and some don't even realize they did. While the likes of Angelo Mathews, Shaun Pollock captained for a brief while, you still remember them as captains but there are some you may not know were IPL captains.
Ahead of IPL 2017, here are five players you may not know were IPL captains:
#5 Aaron Finch
Team captained: Pune Warriors
Matches captained: 10
The 2013 edition of the Indian Premier League certainly wasn't a great one for the Pune Warriors. Not only was it their final season in the IPL but it was also one that saw them have three different captains during the season. After Sourav Ganguly retired ahead of the season, they appointed Michael Clarke as captain but injury ruled him out of contention.
That meant Angelo Mathews was given the armband but after the Sri Lankan all-rounder lost his first three matches as captain and was dropped, the role passed on to Aaron Finch for the remainder of the 2013 season. Although he would go on to captain Australia in T20Is, it wasn't a great season for the Aussie opener.
He lost his first eight games as captain as he saw over a tumultuous period in the franchise's history on the field. He did, however, end the season on a high as he won the last two games, in both of which he fired with the bat as he finished his only stint as a captain in IPL with two wins and eight losses from 10 matches.
#4 James Hopes
Team captained: Delhi Daredevils
Matches captained: 3
The 2011 season was in many ways where the downfall began as far as Delhi Daredevils were concerned. After qualifying for the playoffs in the first two seasons and only just missing out in the third edition, they finished 2011 at the bottom of the pile. Since then they have qualified for the playoffs just once.
Although Virender Sehwag was the captain of the Delhi Daredevils side for the 2011 season, the last three games of the season saw Australian all-rounder James Hopes take over as captain of the side. Unfortunately, it wasn't a great end to the season as he failed to win a single game as captain and even had one no-result to his name.
DD's failure to win towards the latter stages of the group stage meant they finished bottom and Hopes has the dubious record of being the only IPL captain without a single victory to his name among all players who have been skipper for more than one match.
#3 Dwayne Bravo
Team captained: Mumbai Indians
Matches captained: 1
In the 2010 edition of the IPL, Sachin Tendulkar led from the front and almost led Mumbai Indians to their maiden IPL title. In preparation for the playoffs, the Indian legend gave up captaincy for a game to West Indian all-rounder Dwayne Bravo, who led the side in their final group game.
Sachin, who finished as the leading run-scorer in the tournament and ended as the player of the tournament as well, decided to give the last group game a miss after ensuring his side will finish top courtesy of 10 wins from their first 13 games. However, Bravo's only stint as a captain didn’t go according to plan as he lost.
They were thrashed by nine wickets by KKR who won with 15 balls to spare. Even if the West Indian didn't captain an IPL game after that, he has shown his prowess with the ball is more than enough to etch his names onto the list of the best players to have played in the tournament.
#2 Parthiv Patel
Team captained: Kochi Tuskers Kerala
Matches captained: 1
Parthiv Patel has played more than 100 IPL matches (which is far more than his international tally as far as matches are concerned). He has played for Chennai Super Kings, Deccan Chargers, Kochi Tuskers Kerala, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Sunrisers Hyderabad and his current side, Mumbai Indians.
Extra Cover: Players who have played more IPL matches than internationals
Despite playing over 100 matches in the tournament and scoring nearly 2,000 runs in the tournament, he has only captained one match. And that came during his time at the Kochi Tuskers Kerala in IPL 2011.
Mahela Jayawardene was the captain of the side throughout IPL 2011 but in the side's final match of the group stages, it was Parthiv who led the side. Unfortunately, the game against Chennai Super Kings ended in defeat but that didn't matter a great deal as they were already out of contention for the playoffs going into their final game, in which the Sri Lankan captain didn't take part.
#1 Ross Taylor
Team captained: Pune Warriors
Matches captained: 1
Of all the players on this list, Ross Taylor is the only one to have won more games than he lost as skipper and in fact, he is the only captain with a 100 percent win percentage in the history of the Indian Premier League.
Pune Warriors won only four games in the 2013 IPL, of them, one came under the stewardship of New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor. After Angelo Mathews lost three of his first four games as skipper after replaced injured Michael Clarke, who himself replaced the retired Sourav Ganguly, Ross Taylor led the side against Chennai Super Kings.
After losses to Sunrisers Hyderabad, Kings XI Punjab and Mumbai Indians, not many expected Pune to beat the most successful side in the IPL. But that is what happened as Aaron Finch's fifty, Steve Smith's cameo and tight spell from the pacers helped Pune win by 24 runs. But Taylor's poor form meant the captaincy went to Aaron Finch after just one game.
Although that would be Ross Taylor's only game as captain in the IPL and he has been overlooked in recent years, the Kiwi batsman will certainly not mind having the record for being the only captain with 100 percent win rate in IPL history.
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