After MS Dhoni stepped down from the captaincy and handed it over to Ruturaj Gaikwad. The official handle of IPL posted on X,
Presenting @ChennaiIPL‘s Captain – @Ruutu1331
They posted the photo where Ruturaj can be seen with Gujarat Titans (GT) captain Shubhman Gill and Punjab Kings (PBKS) vice-captain Jitesh Sharma. After this move by CSK, all nine captains were present for the photoshoot before the start of the tournament. Except, PBKS who was represented by their vice-captain Jitesh Sharma.
The official handle of IPL wrote on X,
𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐰𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞!
The #TATAIPL is here and WE are ready to ROCK & ROLL
Presenting the 9 captains with PBKS being represented by vice-captain Jitesh Sharma.
Let’s check out the captain’s records of all ten IPL teams:
Chennai Super Kings – Ruturaj Gaikwad
In terms of IPL captaincy Ruturaj Gaikwad has no experience. However, he has been doing captaincy for his state Maharashtra in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Ruturaj has become one of the key players of CSK for a few years. In 52 matches he has scored 1797 runs at an average of 39.07.
As a captain, Ruturaj has big shoes to fill in as he has to carry the legacy of CSK which MS Dhoni has left behind as a captain. CSK has won five IPL titles under the captaincy of MS Dhoni.
Gujarat Titans – Shubhman Gill
Earlier this year, when Hardik Pandya was traded to Mumbai Indians, he was appointed as the captain of GT. Shubhman Gill, a highly talented batter, has secured his position in the Indian team as a crucial player. Last year in 2023, he achieved the title of highest run scorer with 89 runs in 17 matches.
Mumbai Indians – Hardik Pandya
Hardik Pandya started captaincy in his career when GT roped him in in 2022. GT introduced itself as a new team in 2022 and appointed Hardik as their captain. In their maiden season, Hardik captained his franchise for their first IPL Title. In 2023, GT was the runner-up and lost to CSK on the last ball of the final match.
His captaincy record in IPL is pretty good, in 31 matches he has won 22 and has a win percentage of 70.97. He has replaced Rohit Sharma as the captain of MI who has won five titles for the franchise.
Royal Challengers Bangalore – Faf Du Plessis
Faf Du Plessis is a former South African captain and he has experience of doing captaincy in International Cricket.
In IPL, he has captained 27 matches and won 14 out of them with a win percentage of 51.9. In 2022, RCB qualified for the playoffs but in 2023 they finished at no.6 in the points table.
Lucknow Super Giants – KL Rahul
KL Rahul in this edition is the second most experienced captain with a record of doing the captaincy in 51 matches. Before the LSG he was the captain of PBKS. KL was appointed the captain of Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) in 2020 and till 2021 he captained the side.
In 2022, when LSG was introduced as the new team KL Rahul was appointed as their captain. In his captaincy, LSG was successful in qualifying for the playoffs in 2022. His captaincy records are, in 51 matches he has a win percentage of 49.01.
Rajasthan Royals – Sanju Samson
Sanju Samson was appointed as the captain of RR in 2021. Till now, he has captained the team in three seasons. As a captain he has a promising record in IPL he has captained 45 matches and has 22 wins with a percentage of 48.89.
Last season RR finished at the fifth position in the points table. In 2022, RR finished in the second position and was the runner-up.
Punjab Kings – Shikhar Dhawan
Left-handed opener Shikhar Dhawan was appointed as the captain of PBKS last year. Shikhar Dhawan has the experience of doing the captaincy in IPL. He has led Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2013 and 2014.
He has won 11 matches out of 28 with a win percentage of 43.73. Shikhar Dhawan has been a consistent performer with his bat in the IPL. In 217 matches he has scored 6616 runs with an average of 35.19.
Delhi Capitals – Rishabh Pant
Rishabh Pant making his comeback to competitive cricket after more than one year after a horrific road accident. DC appointed Pant as the captain in 2021 when he led the team in the second half, and then in 2022, they appointed him as the full-time captain. Unfortunately, he didn’t play in 2023 due to his surgery.
He has 16 wins out of 30 matches he has captained with a percentage of 53.33. Rishabh is known for his aggressive batting. In 98 matches he has scored 2838 runs with an average of 34.61.
Sunrisers Hyderabad – Pat Cummins
Australia’s World Cup-winning captain Pat Cummins has no experience in leading the franchise. However, he has led his country to the World Test Championship title and the World Cup title. Looking at this SRH has appointed him as the captain for this season.
Pat Cummins missed the last season of the IPL because of international commitments. After the IPL there was WTC Final and The Ashes.
Kolkata Knight Riders – Shreyas Iyer
In this edition of the IPL out of all ten captains, Shreyas Iyer is the most experienced captain. Shreyas Iyer was appointed as the captain of Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) in 2018. Till 2021, he was with the DC franchise. He led the DC to finals in 2020 but was unsuccessful in lifting the trophy. In 2022, Shreyas Iyer was bought by KKR for a whopping amount of INR 12.25 Cr. KKR appointed him as their skipper ahead of IPL 2022. Iyer missed last year’s IPL due to his back injury.