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The T20 format has been in existence since early 2000's. But it was at the inaugural world T20 when it took the World Cricket by storm when a young Indian side lifted the trophy. No one had given a thought that this format would be as popular as it is today.
Exactly one year later, IPL was started, and tonnes of new talent emerged every year. More so, we have also witnessed some great captains who have fared well in this format of the game.
The criteria for the selection is the that the player must have captained a team for at least one full season. Let us look at the players who make it to the team.
#1 Rohit Sharma (Mumbai Indians)
Hitman Rohit Sharma will go down as one of the most successful captains in IPL history. Rohit was never the first choice to lead the side but due to some poor performances by the then captain Ricky Ponting, he was promoted to be the captain and what followed next was absolutely glorious.
Rohit led them to their maiden trophy the same season and also was the first captain to lift 3 IPL trophies. Rohit the batsman also improved with added responsibility. He is the third highest run scorer in IPL history with 4493 runs at an average of 31.86.
It is safe to say that Rohit is one of the best openers on the cricket circuit currently and he has the numbers to back him. Hitman has blasted 5 hundred in T20s and is the only batsman from India to hit more than two hundred in International T20s.
Matches Captained: 89, Wins: 51, Losses: 37, NR:0, Tied:0, Win Percentage: 57.31
#2 David Warner (Sunrisers Hyderabad)
The Southpaw from New South Wales is easily the best Australian batsman to play the IPL. Warner made his IPL debut with Delhi Daredevils but it was when he made the move to Sunrisers Hyderabad, he became the IPL legend that he is today.
David Warner was made the captain at season 8 and success instantly followed this decision.
In his tenure as captain, Warner led Sunrisers to their maiden title and also won 2 Orange caps. However, this dream run had to come to an end when he was banned due to the Sandpaper gate incident. It is almost imminent that
Warner will return to the men in orange in the upcoming IPL. It will be interesting to see whether he can redeem is old place as captain or will Kane Williamson retain his place as the captain.
Captain or not a captain, one can assure David Warner will be the leader to take Sunrisers forward in the years to come.
Matches Captained: 47, Wins: 25, Losses: 22, NR:0, Tied:0,Win Percentage: 57
#3 Virat Kohli (Royal Challengers Bangalore)
Generally, a match follows another match, and an individual performance is remembered for only a day or let alone a week, but IPL season 9 will be remembered for Virat Kohli, who single-handedly took his team to the coveted prize.
At one point Kohli was on his way to make 1000 runs in a single season but ended up with 973 runs.
Kohli has been the talisman of the Indian team, and also the RCB team for better part of the last decade and will continue to do so for the following years.
The RCB captain may have not won the gold but was the runners-up in 2016, and has taken his team to playoffs on multiple occasions. He is one of the rare players who play the orthodox shot, and textbook drives even in T20 cricket and still makes mammoth runs.
Matches Captained: 96, Wins: 44, Losses: 47, NR:3, Tied:2, Win Percentage: 45.83
#4 Suresh Raina (Gujarat Lions)
It would be unfair to make a list of great IPL players and miss out Suresh Raina. If there is one player who could define IPL, then Raina is the guy. Raina has achieved everything there is to offer in IPL.
Raina is the highest run scorer in IPL history and will go down as one of the greatest batsmen to play this format. IPL is the only arena wherein he has overcome his kryptonite (i.e) short ball.
Raina had captained CSK on rare instances when Dhoni gets injured but in 2016 CSK was banned for two years and he was made the captain of the new team Gujarat Lions. The team looked like invincibles for most of the tournament but eventually, their run ended at playoffs. One can expect Raina to lead CSK when Dhoni decides to hang his boots.
Matches Captained: 32, Wins: 16, Losses: 16, NR:0, Tied:0, Win Percentage: 50
#5 Steve Smith (Rising Pune Supergiants)
The former Australian captain, who is currently serving a one year ban is added to the side to give new look to this already strong team.
A controversial decision was made in IPL 2017 where Steve Smith would replace a legend in MS Dhoni as the captain of Rising Pune Supergiants for their final season in IPL. Dhoni's shoes are one of the hardest to fill, but Smith managed to ease into the role.
Smith lead the Pune based franchise to its first-ever IPL finals. However, Pune failed to cross the final hurdle.
While playing T20 cricket is not the biggest feature of Steve Smith, Steve managed to adapt to formats and gives match winning knocks time to time.
Smith was initially decided as the captain to lead Rajasthan in this year's IPL but was replaced by Rahane due to the one-year ban.
Matches Captained: 24, Wins: 16, Losses: 8, NR:0, Tied:0, Win Percentage: 66.67
#6 MS Dhoni (Chennai Super Kings) (c) (wk)
It is a no-brainer to add MS Dhoni into the list of great captains in IPL. One of the greatest minds to ever play cricket is also the most successful captain in IPL.
Dhoni's legacy on Indian cricket as well as on Chennai Super Kings will be part of a massive folklore which people will talk about for many generations.
Everything that MS Dhoni has touched has turned into gold in IPL. He is a mastermind in the field, deadly with the bat in the death overs, also swift behind the wickets. Dhoni has taken CSK to playoffs in every season, featured in eight IPL finals and won three of them.
It will be painful to see the men in the yellow march on to the field without their captain leading from the front when Dhoni decides to call it a day also it will be difficult for anyone to match the huge standards set by him.
Matches Captained: 159, Wins: 94, Losses: 64, NR:1, Tied:0,Win Percentage: 59.11
#7 Shane Watson (Rajasthan Royals)
Shane Watson is one of the rare gems who is effective in all 40 overs of a match. Watson can take away a game in a matter of a couple of overs with the bat and also provide some crucial spells with the ball. His slip catching can also come handy at times.
Watson has scored four centuries in IPL, two each with Rajasthan Royals and Super Kings from Chennai and also won Most Valuable Player of the year on two times.
Watto captained the Rajasthan Royals in the eighth season and took them to the playoffs but was unsuccessful in going forward in the tournament.
Watson also captained the RCB side when Kohli was out injured. It is not sure whether Watson will return to play for CSK for season 12 but regardless of this decision Watson will go down as one of the greats to play IPL.
Matches Captained: 24, Wins: 8, Losses: 13, NR:1, Tied:2, Win Percentage: 39.13
#8 Daniel Vettori (Royal Challengers Bangalore)
The legendary left-arm orthodox spinner from New Zealand enjoyed decent success in his stint as captain with Royal Challengers from Bangalore. Daniel Vettori took RCB to their second finals in his first year at the job.
Vettori is also one of the few players who were pivotal in the rise of Virat Kohli the captain. He knew when to hand over his reigns to his successor.
This speaks huge volume about the character that Vettori brought into the field as a player.
While Vettori may not give you many wickets with the ball but with the stump to stump bowling, he can contain the flow of runs which is very critical in a T20 match.
He can be handy with the bat too when the situation demands. Vettori has taken 28 wickets in 34 matches that he has played and has 52% win record as a captain.
Matches Captained: 22, Wins: 12, Losses: 10, NR:0, Tied:0, Win Percentage: 54.54
#9 Ravichandran Ashwin (Kings XI Punjab)
It was always known that the shrewd thinker in Ravichandran Ashwin the bowler would develop into a captain over time, but chances were very slim as he spent most of his time under the MS Dhoni.
This all changed when King XI Punjab became the new home of Ashwin where he could be the king of his fortress.
Ashwin has already shown promising signs in the first year as the captain with a side which was short on quality batting.
His win percentage took a hit in the latter stages of the tournament thanks to some abysmal performances from his batsmen.
Ashwin the bowler also compliments his captain. He has taken 110 wickets in the 125 matches that he has played with an economy rate of 6.73.
While off-spinners nowadays find it tough in the limited overs format, Ashwin is one of the few bowlers who can be still effective in the shortest format of the game.
Matches Captained: 14, Wins: 6, Losses: 8, NR:0, Tied:0, Win Percentage: 42.86
#10 Zaheer Khan (Delhi Daredevils)
Probably the greatest fast bowler to ever play for India also makes this side. With a tactical mind and some prominent bowling skills, Zaheer was a complete player who added a lot of strength his side. Zaheer's captaincy helped in the inflow of lot young players like Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant.
It's rare to see a fast bowler to lead a team in the shortest format of the game but Zak is known to do things that others find it difficult.
Zaheer is the 12th highest wicket-taker in IPL history with 102 wickets in 100 matches with a healthy strike rate of 21.56. He has won 10 matches as captain with Delhi Daredevils, but numbers don't justify the impact he had on this team.
Matches Captained: 23, Wins: 10, Losses: 13, NR:0, Tied:0, Win Percentage: 43.5
#11 Shane Warne (Rajasthan Royals)
A mastermind with the ball and also a mastermind while wearing the captain's hat. Warne did the unthinkable when he won the first IPL as captain with a relatively inexperienced side. He proved that right mix of experience and talent could do wonders in making a champion side. Warne was one of those pioneers of this great game who set the tone for IPL.
A leg spinner in the side also brings in the much-needed variety to this bowling attack.
Warne has won 30 matches in the 55 matches that he has captained with 57 wickets which also included one five-wicket haul. Under Warne's captaincy, many Indians made into the national side like Ravindra Jadeja and Yusuf Pathan. Warne has currently taken up the role of mentor in RR.
Matches Captained: 55, Wins: 30, Losses: 24, NR:0, Tied:1, Win Percentage: 54.54
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