The 15th season of the much loved series- the Indian Premier League commenced on 26th March. Every season gives cricket fans the ultimate rush of excitement and a heady doze of entertainment. This year, with the addition of two new franchises, Lucknow Super Giants and Gujarat Titans, and a new Official Title Sponsor, the Tata Group, replacing Vivo, there is a huge interest in the event. The changes in captaincy have also made it all the more fun to watch. While a few franchises have retained their previous captains, many have appointed new ones to lead their teams.
The TATA Indian Premier League is underway in Mumbai and Pune. 70 league matches will be played, including four playoffs over 65 days.
Let’s know more about these leading men- the captains of all the ten franchises:
Rohit Sharma (Mumbai Indians)
The Indian cricket team’s ‘hitman’ Rohit Sharma is yet again leading Mumbai Indians (MI) for a spectacular amount of ₹16 crores. Under his leadership, the team is eyeing its sixth IPL win. MI has won five titles in 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2020 all under the expertise of Rohit Sharma. He ranks high among the most successful captains. On an individual level, fans are expecting a lot from him this year as well.
Rishabh Pant (Delhi Capitals)
Delhi Capitals is playing under the leadership of Rishabh Pant, a dynamic wicketkeeper and batter. In the previous season, Pant had shown exceptional performance and was praised by the team’s coach Ricky Ponting. Pant led the Delhi Capitals to win six matches of eight in the first half of the IPL 2021 edition. Rishabh was retained at a net worth of ₹16 crore.
Kane Williamson (Sunrisers Hyderabad)
New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson will continue to be in charge of Sunrisers Hyderabad. Williamson had replaced David Warner in the previous edition of IPL and was retained at an amount of ₹14 crores. A good right-handed batter and a cool-headed captain, Williamson led New Zealand to the finals of the T20 World Cup 2021.
Hardik Pandya (Gujarat Titans)
The Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya was purchased for ₹15 crores and is all set to lead the new IPL team – the Ahmedabad-based franchise Gujarat Titans. Hardik has shown a stellar performance while playing for his previous team Mumbai Indians.
KL Rahul (Lucknow Super Giants)
Lucknow Super Giants, the new IPL franchise picked KL Rahul to lead the team for a signing amount of ₹17 Crores. In the last four editions of the IPL, KL Rahul has emerged as a consistent batter. His previous captaincy stint with the Punjab Kings was commendable.
Shreyas Iyer (Kolkata Knight Riders)
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) acquired Shreyas Iyer at a whopping price of ₹12.25 crores. Iyer is considered best for leading the team, having previously captained Delhi Capitals and shown his leadership skills in the IPL 2020 finals. The KKR team management selected Iyer over pacer Pat Cummins. David Hussey recently lauded Shreyas Iyer, calling him a talented and born leader with a good cricketing brain. His deputy in the game will be Pat Cummins. The team will be coached by Brendon McCullum.
Faf du Plessis (Royal Challengers Bangalore)
Faf du Plessis, former South African skipper, will lead the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) team taking over from Virat Kohli. The right-handed batter was bought for ₹7 crore.
Mayank Agarwal (Punjab Kings)
Punjab Kings chose Mayank Agarwal to lead the team for the 15th Edition of the IPL tournament. The management retained their opening batter for an amount of ₹12 crores. Mayank has been associated with the franchise since 2018 and has performed spectacularly with his bat.
As per the Head coach of Punjab Kings, Anil Kumble, “Agarwal is “hardworking, enthusiastic- a team player with all the attributes required for a leader.”
Sanju Samson (Rajasthan Royals)
Wicket-Keeper batter Sanju Samson was appointed as the skipper for the Rajasthan Royals for a whopping amount of ₹14 crores. He was the first player to be retained by the franchise at the auction, having shown exemplary performance and consistency with his bat. It is for us to wait and watch how he’s going to justify his position as the skipper and lead the way towards thrilling matches.
Ravindra Jadeja (Chennai Super Kings)
As MS Dhoni stepped down from the captaincy, the reign of the team was handed over to Ravindra Jadeja. The official statement regarding captaincy came as a surprise. Dhoni decided to step down as he wanted a smooth transition of the leadership role as per the official statement given by Chennai Super Kings CEO Kasi Viswanathan. Popularly known as Jaddu or sir, Jadeja will be the third to lead Chennai Super Kings after MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina. He was roped in the captain of the team for ₹16 crores.
