IPL 2018: Rating the captains of each side

Captaincy is one of the critical cogs in Twenty20 cricket as such is the fleeting nature of the game, that how and when the skipper responds defines the match in many ways.

Hence, for the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League, the fortunes of many franchises hinge on the respective captains and thus it becomes critical for these players to stand up and be noticed.

We take a look at the respective captains and rate them according to what we believe will be their impact on their teams.

Ravichandran Ashwin: 7/10

The newly appointed captain of Kings XI Punjab is a veteran as far as the IPL is concerned and after spending all his years under MS Dhoni, he has become not only an astute bowler, but also one of the better thinkers of the game in the country at the moment.

Ashwin's appointment came along expected lines as Punjab look to build their side from scratch and hence his contribution will be closely watched.

However, he still unproven at this stage and hence his rating stands at 7 out 10.

Dinesh Karthik: 7.5/10

Karthik will fill the void left by Gambhir

Another Tamil Nadu man, Dinesh Karthik was appointed captain of the Kolkata Knight Riders.

This came as a surprise to many people around. However, on close observation, one finds that the wicket-keeper batsman has a decent record as a skipper for Tamil Nadu.

He led his state side to the Vijay Hazare Trophy back in 2009-10 and last year captained a winning campaign for India Red in Duleep Trophy.

However, the pressure of the IPL is a different commodity and he will play for KKR for the very first time and thus his rating reads 7.5 out of 10.

David Warner: 8/10

Warner will look to add to his IPL tally

There is little doubt that this Australian is a leader of men and his record both as an Australian captain in the T20Is and for the Sunrisers Hyderabad is exemplary.

Warner has already won a title for SRH and if all the reviews from the players under him are to be believed, he is a perfect captain for this particular format.

Perhaps a successful IPL campaign might well see him lead the Australian T20 side as a regular skipper.

His rating reads 8 out of 10.

Virat Kohli: 8/10

Kohli has not won any IPL title

The Indian captain has not had a very successful IPL campaign with the Royal Challengers Bangalore and after a forgetful 2017, he will be determined to grab that coveted trophy.

He has a good team at his disposal with all the bases covered and after enjoying an extended purple patch with the Indian cricket team, Kohli will walk into the IPL brimming with confidence.

Rating as of now is 8 out 10.

Gautam Gambhir: 8.5/10

Gambhir back with Delhi

The Delhi boy is back in his hometown and will captain the Delhi Daredevils.

Much of Kolkata Knight Riders' recent success has been because of his captaincy and Delhi would hope that we would finally make something out of the riches they have at their disposal.

Gambhir's rating is a handsome 8.5 out of 10.

Steve Smith: 8.5/10

Smith will lead a strong Rajasthan Royals squad

The Australian captain had a brilliant time as the skipper of the Rising Pune Supergiant in 2017 and hence when he walks out as the leader of Rajasthan Royals, expectations will hit the roof.

With players like Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Ajinkya Rahane and the others in the mix, Smith might just harbour ambitions of winning the IPL title.

He has been a good leader for the Australians and after clinching the Ashes, his rating stands at 8.5/10.

MS Dhoni: 9/10

Dhoni back in his den

Arguably the greatest ever captain to have led India, MS Dhoni is back to where he started his IPL career back in 2008 and Chennai Super Kings will be delighted to have assembled a solid squad around Dhoni.

However, the man himself will captain any side after January 2017 and how he gets back in the zone will be closely monitored.

Captaincy is natural to him, and we rate him 9 out of 10.

Rohit Sharma: 9.5/10

The winner of 3 IPL trophies

The most successful IPL captain and the most successful IPL player, Rohit Sharma just understands the game and knows how to win cricket matches.

He remains calm under pressure and extracts the best out of his assets. This trait has also shone through whenever he captains India and we expect him to once again pose a strong challenge to lift the trophy.

9.5 out of 10 clearly reflects Rohit's stature as a captain.