IPL 2018: Ranking the captains of all 8 teams 

The 2018 IPL has not even entered the third week but the tournament is already entertaining with almost all the teams fancying their chances of making it to the playoffs.

Kolkata Knight Riders are sitting at the top of the table with six points followed by Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kings XI Punjab with six points each and Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals with four points each.

Mumbai Indians opened their account in their fourth match of the season and are already in the sixth position above struggling Delhi Daredevils and Royal Challengers Bangalore.

All the eight teams are banking a lot on their captains to lead from the front and some have delivered while some are yet to deliver as they are still figuring out the right combination.

Let us take a look at how each and every captain has fared in the IPL so far and rank them in the descending order.

---

#8 Virat Kohli

The 2018 season was just like yet another season for Royal Challengers Bangalore as they were a force to reckon with before the start of the season and once the season started, they are struggling and are in the penultimate position in the points table after their first four matches.

Skipper Virat Kohli has been average as a captain as some of the calls he has taken are simply baffling. The RCB middle order is fragile and Kohli opening the batting the batting will make it weaker. In spite of that, he opened the innings for them against Mumbai Indians despite having Manan Vohra in the side and RCB were never in the chase after losing two early wickets.

The Indian skipper can use one of their foreign imports to strengthen the middle order and the bowling department. On occasions, he is losing the track of overs his bowlers have in their kitty as Chris Woakes was under-bowled in one of their matches and Corey Anderson had to fill in for the Englishman in the 20th over.

#7 Gautam Gambhir

Gautam Gambhir

Gautam Gambhir is one of the three captains (Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni are the other two) to have won the IPL twice and one would have expected the southpaw to replicate the magic he weaved with Kolkata Knight Riders with Delhi Daredevils as well.

Unfortunately, Gambhir's Delhi Daredevils are languishing at the bottom of the points table. Though he doesn't have the resources he had with KKR, Gambhir's captaincy this season has not been up to the mark.

Right from the way he uses his bowlers to having the better overseas players warming the bench, Gambhir has been a big let down as a captain in the ongoing tournament.

#6 Ajinkya Rahane

Ajinkya Rahane

Ajinkya Rahane is one of the three captains who is captaining his IPL side for the first time and if the first four matches are something to go by, Ajinkya has been quite disappointing with his captaincy.

The decision to play Rahul Tripathi as a middle-order batsman even though he is best as an opening batsman, not using K Gowtham as a floater in the batting line-up as he has the ability to carve the spinners for a lot of runs, lack of rotation of bowlers, no usage of players like Jofra Archer (yes, he is fit and has been a part of the Royals' training sessions) and Heinrich Klaasen are just shocking.

#5 Dinesh Karthik

Dinesh Karthik

When Dinesh Karthik was named the captain of Kolkata Knight Riders ahead of the 2018 IPL, a lot of eyebrows were raised as Karthik is someone who is new to captaining a side at this level. But, he impressed everyone with his brilliant captaincy in the 2018 IPL. In spite of that, there were few things that have left the fans scratching their hairs.

His decision to bowl Vinay Kumar in the last over of the first two games, let Shubman Gill, who is best as a top-order batsman, bat at number 6 or 7, not using Shivam Mavi properly in his debut match are some of the areas where he was at fault.

#4 MS Dhoni

MS Dhoni

MS Dhoni is easily the best captain India has ever produced as the wicketkeeper bat has led his teams, be it the Indian team or Chennai Super Kings. After last captaining a side in January 2017, Dhoni captained a team for the first time in over 15 months in the 2018 IPL.

Though CSK won their first two matches before losing their third, it should be noted that there were a few decisions that have others wondering.

The decision to play Ravindra Jadeja as a proper batsman, making Dwayne Bravo bat below Jadeja, not rotating the bowlers properly (in one of the matches, Bravo's overs were miscalculated and the West Indian bowled just three overs) etc. are something the Indian skipper can improve on.

After all, who am I to say that MS Dhoni should improve on certain areas as a captain?

#3 Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma, without a doubt, is the most successful captain in the history of IPL as he has led his team to the title on three occasions, one more than any other captain. Though his team Mumbai Indians registered their first win in their fourth match of the season, Rohit Sharma has been quite impressive as the skipper of his team.

His decision to back Mayank Markande ahead of Rahul Chahar, opening the batting with Suryakumar Yadav, something that has been benefitting both him and Surya. The way he handles his bowlers, especially Jasprit Bumrah and Mustafizur Rahman, are enough to show how good he has been as a leader of the team.

#2 Kane Williamson

Kane Williamson

When Australian batsman David Warner was banned from the IPL, no one gave Sunrisers Hyderabad a chance as the southpaw has been the backbone, both as a batsman and a leader of the team in past.

While Shikhar Dhawan is trying to fill the shoes of David Warner, the batsman, Kane Williamson has already filled the void left by David Warner, the captain. Just like Warner, Williamson has been leading the Sunrisers from the front and is making sure that the Orange Army is not missing the Aussie.

The way he plans for every batsman, the field placements and the bowler he should bowl, shows how good a leader Williamson is.

#1 R Ashwin

R Ashwin

When R Ashwin said about being unpredictable ahead of the IPL season, he was trolled from all quarters for his comments. But, two weeks into the IPL, he has established himself as the best skipper in the tournament.

Right from planning for every opposition player perfectly to taking some bold calls when it comes to selection, Ashwin has been impressive. The way he rotates his bowlers and the field placements he has for different players will tell a story of how good he is as a captain.

His decision to play Chris Gayle against Chennai Super Kings, a side that doesn't have someone who can bowl at 145 kph and above and choosing to bat first in the IPL while all the teams are chasing are masterstrokes and are testaments to his captaincy.