IPL 2019: Who among Dhoni, Kohli and Rohit will emerge as the most successful captain this year?

The countdown has begun for IPL 2019, and defending champions Chennai Super Kings will be taking on Royal Challengers Bangalore in their home ground on 23rd March.

While CSK have won the IPL thrice, RCB will be hoping to win their maiden title this season. Both teams will be looking up to their captains to start the tournament on a positive note.

Captains are constantly under pressure in IPL, as things change quite fast. One wrong decision can change the course of the game. There have been many great players who disappointed as captains and some unexpected captains who inspired their teams towards excellence.

This year’s IPL will see three greats of India’s current generation leading their teams, and fans can expect absolute thrillers when they face each other. All eyes will be on MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma as they stand against each other as captains.

Here's a look at the prospects of each of these greats:

1. MS Dhoni

MS Dhoni is the only captain to win all three ICC trophies. He made a comeback as a captain last season for CSK and showed why he is still one of the best.

MSD is ice cool in tense situations, and can put immense pressure on the opposition in death overs.

Coming to the stats, Dhoni is the only player to captain an IPL team in 150+ matches. He has led the Super Kings to three IPL victories till now and also captained Rising Pune Supergiant in their 2016 season.

Dhoni has managed to win 94 out of 159 matches he has captained at an excellent winning percentage of 59.5.

He is rock solid as a captain and makes the best use of the resources at his disposal. It’s a treat to watch MSD captaining the men in yellow, and the fans would hope he takes CSK to their 10th playoff in this edition of the IPL.

Rohit Sharma

2. Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma surprised everyone when he led Mumbai Indians to their first IPL title in 2013. He hasn’t looked back since then, and has matched Dhoni by winning 3 IPL trophies.

Rohit remains calm and composed and backs youngsters in crucial situations. He has led MI to victory in 51 out of 89 matches till now, at an excellent winning percentage of 57.9.

As a result of Rohit's faith in youngsters, MI unleash an uncapped player as a surprise package every season - and many of those have become permanent members of Team India. Rohit is also their batting mainstay, and is expected to open the innings in this edition of the IPL.

Can Rohit emerge as the most successful captain in IPL history in this edition? We have to wait and watch.

3. Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli was appointed as the full-time captain of Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 2013 edition of the IPL. He has led his franchise to victory in 44 of the 96 matches he has captained, at a winning percentage of 48.4.

RCB were the runners-up in IPL 2016 under the captaincy of Kohli.

Can Kohli take RCB home this time?

The team has struggled to build a balanced squad over the years, and has been guilty of relying too heavily on Kohli, Ab de Villiers and Chris Gayle. The Bangalore-based franchise have experimented quite a lot in their middle order and fast bowling departments, but the results have been disappointing.

The IPL 2019 auction witnessed a shift in RCB’s strategy in team selection, as they bought many young Indian players such as Shivam Dube, Himmat Singh and Paras Barman. The onus is on captain Kohli to back these youngsters and inspire them to perform against strong oppositions.

Kohli has matured as a captain over the years, and has been quite successful for Team India across all formats. But questions remain over his tendency to change the playing XI far too often, and not backing his players for long.

RCB fans will be hoping to see the much-loved team winning the IPL this season. But for that, Kohli will have to upstage Dhoni's and Rohit's captaincy - which is no mean feat.