IPL 2019: Possible stand-in captains

The IPL is a very long tournament occupying over two months of the cricketing calendar. Also, since it is played in the month of April and May, a lot of players are coming into the league after finishing their cricket seasons back home which ends by March in most countries.

It is quite understandable that the players who play so much cricket are bound to break down and suffer injuries as fatigue comes into play. Also, the 2019 World Cup is around the corner and some cricket boards might be tempted to rest their key players.

In this article, we will take a look at players who can lead their teams in the absence of their regular skipper.

Note: Only the Chennai Super Kings, Kolkata Knight Riders, Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore have been mentioned here.

---

#4 Suresh Raina (CSK)

Suresh Raina

Widely regarded as Mr.IPL, Suresh Raina is undoubtedly the best batsman the league has ever produced. When on a song, Raina can charismatically destroy the opposition and is pleasing to watch.

He has been the deputy to skipper MS Dhoni for several years and has led the side in his absence in few matches here and there. With the bat, he has been an absolute juggernaut scoring runs when the CSK needed the most.

Raina is the best bet for CSK captaincy should Dhoni miss few matches. He is the perfect candidate to fill in the void left by Dhoni's absence.

#

#3 Robin Uthappa (KKR)

Robin Uthappa

Robin Uthappa has been the mainstay of the Kolkata Knight Riders batting line-up for several years. He has been the winner of the Orange Cap for the Knight Riders in their 2014 title victory.

He has given a lot of stable starts to the KKR over the years. Uthappa is known to anchor the innings from one end while allowing big hitters like Andre Russell, Chris Lynn and Sunil Narine to do the damage from the other.

The Karnataka batsman gave a hard-fought tussle to Dinesh Karthik last year for the captaincy role before the job was eventually handed over to Karthik. However, when it comes to replacing Karthik, the Knight Riders will look no further.

#2 Kieron Pollard (MI)

Kieron Pollard

The West Indian all-rounder has spent 9 years with the MI franchise and is a very experienced player for them. The MI crowd love to see their favorite match-winner smashing sixes. Kieron Pollard is another automatic choice when it comes to vice-captaincy.

Pollard has a lot of experience leading the Barbados Tridents and Saint Lucia Stars and even has one CPL title to his name. He has also lead the West Indies successfully on a couple of occasions as a stand-in captain.

After a torrid last season, he will look to reinvent himself and it would be great for him if he repays the owner's faith by winning a few games for the MI as a captain.

#1 AB de Villiers (RCB)

AB de Villiers

AB de Villiers has been the biggest match-winner for the Royal Challengers Bangalore ever since he has joined the team. He has played a lot of fiery knocks and pulled the RCB out of trouble several times.

Being the vice-captain, he is the automatic choice to take over from Kohli.

Moreover, having announced his international retirement, de Villiers is not going to be a part of the 2019 World Cup. Hence, the RCB do not have to worry about him missing any part of the tournament due to international commitments, which would make for a seamless transition in terms of captaincy.