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The Indian Premier League (IPL) has acted as a launching pad for all budding cricketers worldwide. Uncapped talents get an opportunity to share the stage with the biggest names in cricket during the IPL seasons.
There are eight teams in the IPL, and every franchise has its own unique viewpoint. While some prefer experience, others rely on youth for success. The best way to succeed in the IPL is to have a perfect blend of youngsters and seasoned pros in the squad.
Another crucial thing in the IPL is the captaincy. Generally, while captaining the international team, the leader does not face any communication issues because all players know a common language.
But since players from various parts of the world play for the same team in the IPL, the language barrier often makes its presence felt.
Captaining an IPL team is quite challenging, but the following five players took up leadership duties even before turning 24. Here are the five youngest captains in history.
5. Rishabh Pant will be 23 years, six months, and six days old on his IPL captaincy debut
Delhi Capitals (DC) wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant will captain the team in IPL 2021. The Capitals initially named Shreyas Iyer as their skipper for the 14th IPL season.
Unfortunately, Iyer suffered a shoulder injury during the first ODI match between India and England in Pune. The injury ruled Iyer out of the entire IPL 2021 season, compelling the Delhi Capitals to name a new captain.
Although four former IPL captains, namely Ajinkya Rahane, Shikhar Dhawan, Steve Smith and Ravichandran Ashwin, were present in the squad, the DC thinktank assigned the team's reins to 23-year-old Rishabh Pant.
The southpaw will make his IPL captaincy debut against his idol MS Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings on April 10. It will be exciting to see how Pant performs in his first season as the team captain.
4. Suresh Raina - 23 years, three months, and 22 days old
Suresh Raina was MS Dhoni's deputy at the Chennai Super Kings during the 2010 season.
Unfortunately, Dhoni missed CSK's away fixture against the Delhi Capitals (then Delhi Daredevils) in the third edition of the IPL. Raina was given the chance to captain the star-studded Chennai Super Kings squad in Dhoni's absence.
The left-handed batsman played a captain's inning of 49 runs to help his team chase a 186-run target versus the Dinesh Karthik-led outfit.
Australian legend Matthew Hayden backed Raina with a 43-ball 93 as the Chennai-based franchise cruised to a five-wicket victory under Raina's leadership.
3. Shreyas Iyer - 23 years, three months, and 21 days old
The Delhi Capitals (then Delhi Daredevils) signed two-time IPL-winning skipper Gautam Gambhir at the 2018 auction. Soon after, the Delhi-based franchise declared Gambhir the team's new captain.
Unfortunately, Delhi did not perform well under the southpaw's leadership. On top of that, Gambhir himself struggled to get going with the willow. As a result, the Delhi skipper stepped down and Shreyas Iyer was announced as his successor.
A 23-year-old Iyer made his captaincy debut against the Kolkata Knight Riders on April 27, 2018.
He played an explosive inning of 93 runs and led Delhi from the front on his first night as captain. His knock brought Delhi back to winning ways.
Know about the KKR coach here.
2. Steve Smith - 22 years, 11 months, and nine days
Australian batsman Steve Smith made his IPL debut in 2012. The Pune Warriors signed him, and the team soon elected him as the skipper.
Veteran Indian all-rounder Sourav Ganguly was the Pune Warriors' captain when the 2012 season began.
However, after the team did not perform well, Ganguly decided to rest himself ahead of the away fixture against Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Smith walked out for the toss along with Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli that night. The in-form Royal Challengers crushed their rivals at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium as a 22-year-old Steve Smith made an uneventful captaincy debut.
1. Youngest Captain in IPL History: Virat Kohli - 22 years, four months, and six days
Virat Kohli captained the Indian team in the ICC U-19 World Cup 2008 and guided the side to the championship. Hence, Royal Challengers Bangalore roped him in for the inaugural IPL season.
Since RCB had Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble and Kevin Pietersen in the team, Kohli was not in the captaincy picture during the first three seasons.
Ahead of IPL 2011, RCB announced Daniel Vettori as their skipper, with Virat being his deputy. Vettori led the Bangalore-based franchise brilliantly, but was not fit for the away match against the Rajasthan Royals.
Thus, a 22-year-old Virat Kohli became the youngest man to lead an IPL team. He marshaled his troops to perfection on captaincy debut, as RCB beat RR by nine wickets in Jaipur that night.
It will be interesting to see if Virat Kohli's record for the youngest IPL captain will ever be broken.
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