IPL 2018: 5 new captains in the 11th season

IPL's season 11 could be the most exciting yet with the return of Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals after their two-year suspension. There are also a bunch of new things that are enhancing this IPL - the Decision Review System (DRS), Star Sports as broadcasters, broadcast of the player retention event, and of course, new captains.

After 10 years of the IPL, the league saw a massive overhaul, mainly due to the removal of the temporary teams - Rising Pune Supergiant and Gujarat Lions - who had taken the spot of the suspended teams. Most of the players too were shuffled - CSK's prime player R Ashwin was bought by Punjab, RCB's pride Chris Gayle was not retained and then, sold to Punjab again in the auctions, MI's Jos Buttler joined Rajasthan Royals, and KKR's favourite face Manish Pandey moved to the Sunrisers Hyderabad.

It didn't stop there. Mumbai Indians, known for their star-studded coaching team, let go of Ricky Ponting, and the Australian legend then joined the Daredevils.

With so many players finding new homes, appointing new captains was inevitable. Thus, this IPL season sees 5 new captains:

#1 Gautam Gambhir

Team - Delhi Daredevils

The 36-year-old Indian opener is not a new face in captaincy. He led his former team, the Kolkata Knight Riders, for 6 years. Under his captaincy, KKR made it to 4 playoffs and won the title twice, in 2012 against CSK and in 2014 against KXIP.

KKR's CEO, Venky Mysore, revealed that the player had asked the team to not retain him as he wished to end his IPL career where he had started it. The Arjuna Awardee was signed by the Delhi Daredevils for 2.8 crores and was named their skipper. With Ricky Ponting as their coach, the combination of Gambhir and Punter's beaming aggression could make Delhi a force to reckon with.

#2 Ravichandran Ashwin

Team - Kings XI Punjab

One of the most important faces of CSK, Ashwin disappointed his fans down South when the Kings XI Punjab signed him for 7.4 crores, and named him the 'King of the North' (barring Game of Thrones reference, skipper). The ace bowler was also asked to lead the India A side in the Deodhar Trophy, 2018. However, Ankit Bawne ended up captaining the side.

The first-time captain is looking forward to all the challenges in the IPL in his new role. Being the only team to not have a batsman as their captain, this experiment will attract a lot of attention.

#3 Ajinkya Rahane

Team - Rajasthan Royals

The returning Rajasthan Royals surely were dealt a huge blow as they had to give up on the services of their beleaguered captain, Steve Smith after the ball tampering incident in Cape Town. Ajinkya Rahane, who has captained 6 international games for India, was their next choice. The calm Indian batsman has proven time and again that he is not a pushover in the T20 format and is quite an able skipper.

Shane Warne, the coach of RR, said that they have the 'best captain and team' and that he thoroughly believes in the new skipper. With the likes of Ben Stokes, Jaydev Unadkat, Jos Buttler, and Rahane leading from the front, the first champions of the league will look to regain their standing in the IPL.

#4 Dinesh Karthik

Team - Kolkata Knight Riders

The 32-year-old batsman has played for 5 teams in the IPL before signing a deal worth 7.4 crores with the Kolkata Knight Riders. Raising several eyebrows, the hero of the Nidahas Trophy final was named the captain as well. Making the fans believe that in the absence of Gambhir, Pandey and Pathan, Karthik can take the team forward is the first challenge the management may face.

The wicket-keeper batsman, however, has the experiences of leading the Tamil Nadu team to victory in Vijay Hazare Trophy 2009-10 and India Red to the Duleep Trophy last year. He also captained the champions of TNPL 2016, Tuti Patriots.

Two-time champions Knight Riders, with a new captain, will kick-start their campaign against Royal Challengers at home on April 8.

#5 Kane Williamson

Team - Sunrisers Hyderabad

Another team that suffered due to the ball-tampering incident in Cape Town, Sunrisers had initially decided to stick with their usual captain, David Warner, but in the wake of the Sandpaper Gate, they were forced to pick another skipper. Despite having Dhawan in the ranks, the Sunrisers chose the Kiwi captain Kane Williamson to lead their side. The one-time champions are the only team to have an overseas captain this IPL.

"I've accepted the role to stand in as captain for this season. It's an exciting opportunity with a talented group of players. I look forward to the challenges ahead," Williamson said in a tweet posted by the franchise's official Twitter handle.