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The 12th season of the Indian Premier League will kick-start in the last week of March and the tournament expected to finish in May. We are only a few weeks away from the start and the excitement levels are at their peak in fans. IPL will present an opportunity to players like Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul and DK a chance to firm up their claim to the make the World Cup squad.
.A vice-captain's role in a team is often overlooked, but it an extremely important one. Whenever the captain is off the field or isn't a part of the playing XI, it is the vice-captain who has to step up. Even when the captain is on the field, he often seeks the help of his deputy, especially in crunch situations. For example, Virat Kohli often takes the help of Rohit Sharma and even MS Dhoni while leading India.
In this article, we shall try to predict the vice-captain of each team in this year's Indian Premier League.
#1 Chennai Super Kings
There is no doubt that Chennai Super King's captain will be MS Dhoni. It's likely that Suresh Raina will take charge as his deputy. The southpaw was the vice-captain of CSK last season and will be the obvious choice this year too. He is an IPL legend and has captaincy experience in the IPL with Gujarat Lions in 2016 and 2017. Raina led them to a play-offs finish in their first season.
He has a lot of experience in this league and has hardly a game for his team. The 32-year old has scored the most runs in the history of the league and is just 15 away from reaching the 5000 run milestone.
Hence, picking the vice-captain for CSK will be a straightforward decision.
Final Say: Suresh Raina
#2 Delhi Capitals
Delhi Capitals would hope for a change in fortune after a change in name. The franchise has changed its name from Delhi Daredevils to Delhi Capitals for the upcoming season. They have confirmed Shreyas Iyer as their captain. He is a young and an inexperienced leader and the capitals will like to have a good vice-captain to assist him. However, they don't have many options to choose from
One name that comes to mind is Prithvi Shaw. He is only 19-year's old but has already gained a lot of experience as a captain. He was the captain of the victorious U19 World Cup winning team in 2018
He is a player who has led the Indian U19 and can surely play the role of vice-captain. Moreover, one of the main purposes of having a vice-captain him into better players and inculcate leadership skills in them. Hence, the Capitals might benefit from giving the duties.
Final Say: Prithvi Shaw
#3 Kings XI Punjab
Kings XI Punjab looked like the team to beat in the first half of last season and were set to finish on top of the league table. However, they ended the campaign in 7th position. Ravichandran Ashwin was excellent with his captaincy but he was let down by his teammates.
Yuvraj Singh was Ashwin's deputy last season but he was released, prior to the auction. David Miller is a prime candidate to replace him and take the duties as the team's vice-captain. The South African has captained them in the past and has been a part of the franchise for a long time. He was also seen captaining the Rainbow Nation in the T20I series against Pakistan and isn't short of leadership experience.
However, he will leave the tournament halfway through the season and KL Rahul can take up the responsibility after his departure. He captained India A in the unofficial test series against the England Lions recently and a stint as vice-captain could help him evolve as a player.
Final Say: David Miller (1st half)/ KL Rahul (2nd half)
#4 Kolkata Knight Riders
The cricketing fraternity expected Kolkata Knight Riders to finish near the bottom of the table last season after the auction. They picked just 18 players last season and their star bowler; Mitchell Starc was ruled out of the season without playing a single game. They also did not have the best overseas back-ups in the squad.
Despite all this, they finished 3rd in the table. A big reason behind this was because of Dinesh Karthik's captaincy. His deputy was Robin Uthappa and he will most likely perform the role this year too. An experienced campaigner, Uthappa has been a part of the Indian Premier League in all 11 seasons and has been one of the league's most successful players.
Uthappa wasn't at this best last season and will be looking to improve his performances. He will have to play an important role with an extremely young team around him.
Final Say: Robin Uthappa
#5 Mumbai Indians
Mumbai Indians has been the most successful team in the history of IPL, having won the tournament three times. Rohit Sharma led them to the title in 2013, 2015 and 2017.
The franchise has a lot of seasoned pros in their squad in the form of Yuvraj Singh, Lasith Malinga, and Kieron Pollard. While all of them would be guaranteed starters a few years back, that is not the case this year. Kieron Pollard is the most likely of those three to play games on a regular basis. He fulfilled the role last year and is likely to take it this time if he is playing.
With the above options not guaranteed of a place in the team, Suryakumar Yadav, Quinton De Kock, and Ishan Kishan are also options worth looking at.
Final Say: Kieron Pollard or Suryakumar Yadav
#6 Rajasthan Royals
Rajasthan Royals have confirmed that Ajinkya Rahane will be their skipper for the upcoming season, and they will need to find his deputy. Last season it was Jos Buttler who assisted him as vice-captain. However, Butler is expected to leave the IPL midway this season along with Steve Smith and Ben Stokes. There is a possibility that Jofra Archer might also not be available for the entire season.
At a stage in their season, Ajinkya Rahane will be the only international regular in their squad. Therefore, after the departure of the star names, the management will have to look for a couple of youngsters in their squad to assist India's Test vice-captain.
Ashton Turner is a decent option as he has captaincy experience in a T20 league. The lanky all-rounder captained Perth Scorchers in the initial stages of the Big Bash this season. Sanju Samson is another candidate for the role as he has a lot of IPL experience and has captained Kerala in the past.
Final Say: Jos Buttler (1st half)/ Ashton Turner (2nd half)
#7 Royal Challengers Bangalore
Royal Challengers Banglore has always boasted of having the best players in the world but has never shown it on the pitch. They have had a plethora of superstars in their squad but for some reason have never lifted the trophy. Their skipper, Virat Kohli will look to break the drought by winning the title this season. None other than, Ab De Villiers will be his deputy.
De Villiers is an experienced player and is known as an excellent reader of the game. He has performed the role of vice-captain for RCB over the last few years and is someone Kohli regularly takes help from. He has also captained South Africa in past and was seen marshaling the Tshwane Spartans in the Mzansi Super League.
Final Say: AB De Villiers
#8 Sunrisers Hyderabad
Sunrisers Hyderabad is yet to confirm who their captain is, so they must first decide on who will take that position. David Warner will be returning after a year-long ban and he has not played cricket of the same quality as IPL for a long period. Hence, the team management might just want to take some burden off him and allow him to play with full freedom. It is quite likely Kane Williamson will retain the captaincy. He led the troops extremely well last season in their run to the final.
Coming to the vice-captains, a few good options are present in the squad in the form of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Shakib Al Hasan. However, Rashid Khan could perform the role of vice-captain for SRH as he has the experience of leading various teams in the past including Afghanistan.
He is a good thinker of the game and handing him such a responsibility could make him a lot more dangerous. Furthermore, his growing stature at the franchise could also play an important part in the decision
Final Say: Rashid Khan
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