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IPL is the most competitive domestic T20 league globally, where all the top cricketing names play in an eight-city franchise-based tournament. The BCCI initiated this competition in 2008, and over the last 12 years, many legendary names have associated themselves with the league.
Great names like Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Shane Warne, Adam Gilchrist, Rahul Dravid, Shaun Pollock, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, and several others have captained an IPL team in the past. Leading an IPL franchise is an extremely tough job because there is a plethora of talent available in every squad.
The captain and the team management need to pick the best XI and use them to perfection on the field. Also, since there are only 14 games, the franchises need to figure out their best combination at the earliest.
While the playing XI changes quite frequently in the IPL, here are five occasions when an IPL franchise changed their team captain during a season.
5. Kolkata Knight Riders, IPL 2020
The Kolkata Knight Riders had signed veteran Indian wicket-keeper batsman Dinesh Karthik in the IPL Auction of 2018. Soon, they announced him as the team's new skipper, and under his captaincy, the 2-time champions made it to the playoffs in the 2018 season.
The Shahrukh Khan-owned franchise retained Karthik as the skipper in 2019 but KKR missed out on a playoffs berth by a whisker that season. This year, KKR have made a decent start to their IPL campaign, winning four of their first seven games.
Unfortunately, because of some tactical errors on the field during IPL 2020, Dinesh Karthik relinquished the captaincy, and the team management elected Eoin Morgan as the new captain.
4. Delhi Daredevils, IPL 2018
As mentioned earlier, the Kolkata Knight Riders had to hunt for a new captain in the IPL 2018 auction because their previous skipper Gautam Gambhir had joined the Delhi Daredevils. The southpaw led the Delhi-based franchise in the first six games of the eleventh season.
While Gambhir had achieved much success as KKR's captain, Delhi could only win one match under his leadership. Since his individual performances were also not up to the mark, the opener stepped down and handed over the team's reins to Shreyas Iyer.
3. Mumbai Indians, IPL 2013
Ricky Ponting will go down as one of the all-time best captains in cricket history. The Australian team became world-beaters under his leadership, but the Mumbai Indians did not achieve the same success when Ponting skippered them in 2013.
Like Gautam Gambhir, Ponting's batting form was also not exceptional. Thus, he did not hesitate to drop himself from the playing XI and elect Rohit Sharma as the next captain. Ponting's move proved to be a game-changer for MI as Rohit has led them to four championship wins so far.
2. Rajasthan Royals, IPL 2019
The Rajasthan Royals won the inaugural IPL under Shane Warne's guidance. While RR have not reached a single IPL final since, they have qualified for the playoffs on multiple occasions.
Ajinkya Rahane replaced Steve Smith as the captain of RR in 2018. He took the franchise to the playoffs that year, but in 2019, RR could win only two out of their first eight matches.
Just before their game against the Mumbai Indians, RR announced the sacking of Ajinkya Rahane, as they re-elected Steve Smith as their skipper.
1. Royal Challengers Bangalore, 2009
The Royal Challengers Bangalore had a disastrous first season in the IPL. Despite having some match-winners like Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid, Virat Kohli, Zaheer Khan, Praveen Kumar, Jacques Kallis, Dale Steyn, and Ross Taylor in the squad, RCB finished in seventh place.
The team management changed their captain in 2009 as Kevin Pietersen led the team in the first half of the second season. Unfortunately, the results did not vary much under the Englishman's captaincy. They managed only two victories in six games, and Anil Kumble soon replaced him.
There was a miraculous turnaround in RCB's campaign as they finished third on the standings, with eight wins in 14 matches. Ultimately, they finished runners-up to Deccan Chargers.
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