IPL History: 4 instances when captaincy was changed in mid-season

The 12th edition of the Indian Premier League has produced some of the most entertaining cricket. Most of the games have been keenly contested which is why this edition has gained so much popularity. While the Chennai Super Kings and the Delhi Capitals have dominated the league, teams such as the Royal Challengers Bangalore and the Rajasthan Royals also managed to recover somewhat from their earlier defeats. RR, who were led by Ajinkya Rahane, managed to win only two of their opening eight matches. One of the main reasons behind Rajasthan's poor form was Rahane's failure at the top. RR decided to relieve him off his captaincy duties and named Steve Smith their new skipper. This was not the first time that there was a change in leadership in the middle of the tournament. Let us look at four such instances in the past where the captaincy was changed in the middle of an IPL season:

#1. Gilchrist in place of VVS Laxman (2008)

Laxman and Gilchrist - Image Courtesy ( BCCI/IPLT20.com)

Deccan Chargers were one of the eight founding members of the IPL in 2008. The team consisted of star players like Adam Gilchrist, Andrew Symonds, Shahid Afridi and Herschelle Gibbs. Besides, the team had Indian talents, with Rohit Sharma, Venugopal Rao and Pragyan Ojha in the squad. VVS Laxman, who was the icon player, was named the captain of the team. Unfortunately, he had an injury which ended his season after just six games. Adam Gilchrist was given the captaincy duties from then on. Even though Gilchrist proved to be a good leader, the team managed to win just two games out of 14 and finished at the bottom of the table. The bowlers failed to deliver with the ball, while the batsmen didn’t fire at crucial moments, and they had a forgettable season. This was the first instance in the IPL where the captaincy was changed in mid-season.

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#2 Kohli replaces Vettori (2012)

Kohli and Vettori - Image Courtesy ( BCCI/IPLT20.com)

RCB had an impressive 2011 IPL campaign as they finished as the runners-up. They weren’t lucky enough to get hold of the trophy and were looking forward to the 2012 season. They started off well, winning against the Delhi Daredevils by 20 runs. But they lost their next three fixtures, with the main reason being the absence of Chris Gayle at the top of the order. But they recovered well, winning the next three matches which kept them in the contention for the playoffs. Muttiah Muralidharan was a key bowler for RCB in the fifth edition due to which Daniel Vettori benched himself, and the captaincy was given to Virat Kohli. He led the squad in six matches out of which the team won on four occasions. With 17 points on the board, RCB were tied with CSK in the points table, but an inferior NRR meant that RCB missed out on a place in the playoffs.

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#3 Ponting hands over the captaincy to Rohit (2013)

Ponting and Rohit - Image Courtesy ( BCCI/IPLT20.com)

Even though Mumbai Indians were a competitive team in the first five editions of IPL, they were yet to win the coveted trophy. They started off the 2013 season with a loss against RCB by 2 runs. They won the next three encounters and looked to be one of the title contenders. Even though the batting line-up looked solid, captain Ricky Ponting failed to get runs under his belt. This was a major concern as they weren’t able to utilize the powerplay to the fullest. So, the Australian decided to step down and passed on the captaincy role to Rohit Sharma which proved to be a fortune-changer for the team. Under Rohit’s captaincy, the team made it to the playoffs, winning eight out of their remaining 10 league matches. In the final, they beat CSK to claim their maiden IPL title. They also won Champions League T20 in 2013 under Rohit's captaincy.

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#4 Cameron White replaces Sangakkara (2012)

White and Sangakkara - Image Courtesy ( BCCI/IPLT20.com)

After winning the title in 2009, Deccan Chargers failed to put up a fight in the next two seasons. They had a forgettable 2011 season, winning just six matches and finishing 7th in the points table. They were looking to bounce back in the 2012 season under Kumar Sangakkara’s captaincy. But they failed to win matches on a consistent basis and Sangakkara took full responsibility and voluntarily stepped down as the skipper in the middle of the season. Cameron White was elevated to handle the job. In spite of this, the team failed to make it to the playoffs due to poor bowling performance and regular batting collapses. Apart from Shikhar Dhawan, Dale Steyn and White, every other player failed to deliver. They managed only four wins and finished eighth. They were branded as the ‘underdogs’ but they failed to deliver.