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The much-awaited 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is just a few hours away.
Defending champions Mumbai Indians will lock horns with Royal Challengers Bangalore in the season opener at the MA Chidambaram Stadium at the Chepauk in Chennai on Friday.
Playing in the blockbuster league in itself is a high-pressure job, but captaining an IPL team is a more daunting proposition. If a team does not do well, it is often the captain who bears the brunt of fans and management alike. Conversely, captains also receive a lot of laurels if their team fares well in the IPL.
While some players enjoy the added responsibility of captaincy and thrive, some tend to get bogged down by the burden of expectations, which hampers their performances as a player.
IPL 2021 will feature a few surprise captaincy picks by franchises, which includes a few first-time captains in the competition. On that note, let's take a look at all the eight captains in IPL 2021 and predict how their respective sides could fare under their helm.
Click here for the full list of all IPL 2021 captains.
#8 IPL 2021 Captain: Sanju Samson (Rajasthan Royals)
Sanju Samson will captain the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL this season. After finishing with the wooden spoon in IPL 2020, the Royals' management have pinned their hopes on the Kerala player to change the fortunes of the team.
Samson does have some experience as a captain, having led in the Ranji Trophy in the 2015-16 season. The 26-year-old has been a part of the Royals since 2018. He also featured for them from 2013–15 before briefly moving to Delhi Daredevils (now called Delhi Capitals) for a couple of seasons.
Having spent so many years in the Royals camp, Samson is conversant with the RR system.
Performance-wise, he has been a vital cog for the Men in Pink. Samson was their top run-getter in IPL 2020, scoring 375 runs in 14 matches at an average of 28.84 and an impressive strike rate of 158.89. Overall, Sanju Samson has scored 2584 runs in 107 IPL games.
Samson has been given a golden opportunity by the Royals to lead the side. If he can make the most of it, it could bode well for him during a World Twenty20 year, bolstering his chances of making a national team comeback.
#7 IPL 2021 Captain: Rishabh Pant (Delhi Capitals)
Delhi Capitals have picked Rishabh Pant to lead the side in IPL 2021 after their regular captain Shreyas Iyer was ruled out of the tournament due to injury.
The left-hander has enjoyed a fabulous last few months across formats and would look to rise up to the challenge of leading a team with aplomb. However, many felt that Pant is a little inexperienced for the role.
Click here for IPL toss today.
Nevertheless, the DC management went for the 23-year-old, ahead of more experienced campaigners like Steve Smith, Ajinkya Rahane and Ravichandran Ashwin.
There is no denying that Rishabh Pant has been in tremendous form lately.
He smashed a six-laden 77 off 40 deliveries in the second ODI and 78 of 62 in the third ODI in the recently-concluded bilateral series against England.
The Uttarakhand-born player also boasts a stellar IPL record. Pant has amassed 2079 runs in 68 IPL games at an average of 35.23 and a phenomenal strike rate of 151.97.
After a runner-up finish in IPL 2020, Ricky Ponting and co. would look to go all the way this year.
Rishabh Pant is known for his fearless batting. As long as the added responsibility of captaincy does not affect his naturally attacking game, it is a move that could pay rich dividends for DC in IPL 2021.
#6 IPL 2021 Captain: KL Rahul (Punjab Kings)
KL Rahul was handed the captaincy of Punjab Kings in IPL 2020 after Ravichandran Ashwin moved to the Delhi Capitals.
The Punjab Kings (previously called Kings XI Punjab) won five, lost seven and tied two of their 14 matches under Rahul. While they won the second Super Over against Mumbai Indians, they lost to Delhi Capitals in one of the tied matches, ending the season in sixth place, with six wins and eight losses. That translates to a win percentage of 42.85 for Rahul.
While Punjab had a miserable start to their IPL 2020 campaign, they won five of their last seven games to almost make the playoffs. This time around, they would look to start well from the get-go and reach the business end of the tournament without too many hiccups.
On a personal front, KL Rahul enjoyed a fabulous IPL 2020 campaign, winning the Orange Cap for scoring a tournament-leading 670 runs in 14 matches at an average of 55.83 and strike rate of 129.34.
The right-hander struggled for form earlier this season but seemed to have rediscovered his mojo with an unbeaten 62* off 43 deliveries and a fabulous 108 off 114 in the first two ODIs against England last month.
The Punjab Kings captain may have found form at just the right time. The 28-year-old, who has been with the Punjab-based franchise since 2018, would look to lead his team from the front once again.
There have been some interesting additions to the team like Dawid Malan, Jhye Richardson and Moises Henriques. Nevertheless, it could be a tricky proposition for Anil Kumble and KL Rahul to get their playing XI right and open their IPL 2021 campaign on a winning note.
#5 IPL 2021 Captain: Eoin Morgan (Kolkata Knight Riders)
Eoin Morgan led KKR in the latter half of IPL 2020 after Dinesh Karthik stepped down as captain after seven matches.
England’s only World Cup-winning captain transitioned to the post naturally, but KKR only won three of seven matches under his leadership to miss out on the playoffs.
Morgan may be new to IPL captaincy, but he has led England in more than 50 T20I matches, winning more than 30 of them.
The experienced Englishman is set to take charge of KKR for the entire IPL season this time around. Morgan is not someone who shies away from responsibility and actually prospers under pressure.
The left-hander is coming off his best outing last year. He scored 418 runs in 14 matches, doing so at a commendable average of 41.8 and a brisk scoring rate of 138.41.
Two-time champions KKR have failed to make the IPL playoffs in the last two years. So it would be interesting to see what Morgan can conjure to return the Kolkata-based franchise to the playoffs and possibly win their first IPL title in seven years.
#4 IPL 2021 Captain: Virat Kohli (Royal Challengers Bangalore)
Virat Kohli has been at the helm of the IPL franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) since 2013.
While he has an excellent record as the national team captain, the same cannot be said about his stint at RCB. The Bangalore-based franchise's best IPL finish under Kohli's leadership was a runner-up finish in 2016. RCB took the wooden spoon in 2017 and 2019 and finishing sixth in 2018.
After a three-year hiatus, RCB made it to the IPL playoffs last year but were knocked out by the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Eliminator.
Nevertheless, after RCB's promising run in IPL 2020, Kohli would be expected to break his team's title drought in the competition this year.
Kohli has led RCB in 125 matches and has a win percentage of 46.69. This is one area he would be keen to improve.
Despite his modest captaincy record with RCB, Kohli has had a fabulous career in the IPL. The 32-year-old is the tournament's all-time top run scorer, with 5878 runs in 192 matches. King Kohli also has a commendable average of 38.16 and a strike rate of 130.73 in the IPL.
With RCB adding the likes of Glenn Maxwell and Kyle Jamieson to their ranks this year, it remains to be seen if the duo helps the franchise win their first IPL title in 2021.
#3 IPL 2021 Captain: David Warner (Sunrisers Hyderabad)
David Warner is one of the most consistent performers in the IPL and among the most valuable overseas players to feature in the league.
Warner has been with the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) since 2014 and boasts a fabulous record. He led the team to their maiden IPL title in 2016 and has helped them to the playoffs in every subsequent edition of the competition he has played in.
The 34-year-old has captained SRH in 63 matches, winning 34, losing 28 and one, for a decent win % of 54.76 as captain.
The destructive Australian batsman has led SRH from the front. Their chances of making the playoffs looked very slim last season. But Warner instilled belief in his troops, and SRH won four of their last five matches to make the playoffs, eventually finishing third.
The stylish opener has also managed to score over 500 runs in each of his IPL campaigns since 2014. Last season, the left-hander was exceptional with the bat, scoring 548 runs, with four fifties, in 16 matches at an average of 39.14 and strike rate of 134.64.
More often than not, whenever his team needs him, Warner rises to the occasion. Under the Australian, SRH would hope to win their second title in the competition this year.
#2 IPL 2021 Captain: MS Dhoni (Chennai Super Kings)
MS Dhoni has been a star performer for the Chennai Super Kings. He has led the Men in Yellow to three IPL titles and eight visits to the title match.
Overall, CSK have made it to the IPL playoffs a record ten times, with IPL 2020 being the first time they failed to make it to the top 4.
Things just didn't work out for the Super Kings in 2020, as they only won 3 of their first 11 league games. Wins in their last three outings was but a saving grace but not enough to take them to the playoffs.
MS Dhoni has a fabulous captaincy record in the IPL. He has been at the helm in 188 matches (the most by any player in IPL history), with his team winning 110 games and losing 77 times, while one match did not yield a result. That translates to an impressive win percentage of 58.82.
Dhoni was not at his best in IPL 2020, though. He scored only 200 runs at an average of 25 and a strike rate of 116.27.
Nevertheless, with the arrival of Krishnappa Gowtham, Robin Uthappa, Moeen Ali, and Cheteshwar Pujara, CSK would hope for a better IPL campaign this year. It would be interesting to see how head coach Stephen Fleming and CSK's poster boy and captain MS Dhoni utilise the new recruits in the coming season.
MS Dhoni is certainly one of the best in the business, and CSK can certainly be expected to bounce back in IPL 2021 after a one-off poor run last season. There are also speculations that it might be Dhoni's last IPL campaign, so the 39-year-old would love to end his long and illustrious career with a trophy.
#1 IPL 2021 Captain: Rohit Sharma (Mumbai Indians)
Rohit Sharma will yet again be marshalling his Mumbai Indians (MI) troops in IPL 2021. Sharma has led MI to a record five IPL titles and is easily the most successful captain in the blockbuster tournament's history.
MI have made it to the playoffs in nine of the last 11 IPL editions. They are currently the two-time defending champions in the tournament.
The Hitman, as he is popularly known, has captained in 116 IPL matches, with his team winning 68, losing 44 and tying four games. That gives Rohit Sharma a stellar win percentage of 60.34 as an IPL captain.
Sharma is also the fourth-highest run-getter in the history of the tournament, with 5230 runs in 200 matches. Last season, he scored 332 runs in 12 matches.
The right-hander possesses fabulous instincts and reads situations deftly in IPL matches. The MI captain has helped his team capitalise and seize matches in crunch situations.
With arguably the strongest roster in the competition, the Blue Army are the favourites to do a three-peat this year. It remains to be seen how Rohit Sharma and head coach Mahela Jayawardene go about their business in IPL 2021.
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