IPL 2020: Ranking all 8 captains by their win percentage | Sportsmonks
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IPL 2020: Ranking all 8 captains by their win percentage

T20 cricket is a fast and funny format. A lot of games go till the last ball, the teams have to be on their toes throughout the match and there are various strategic or instant decision making involved during those 40 overs. Thus, the role of a captain is very important in the T20 format. He is the guy with the steering in this fast-moving car and his composure at the driving seat is a significant factor in the team’s victory.

Indian Premier League is the epitome of T20 leagues and the tournament pertains to immense pressure as it involves a large amount of money. Such pressure is not easy to handle and the skipper who can absorb that comes out victorious. However, the way T20 cricket has expanded, a skipper needs to be tactful and his decisions have to be rational.

Rohit Sharma has won the most number of titles as a captain, four for Mumbai Indians. MS Dhoni is right behind him with three titles under his belt for Chennai Super Kings. But to decide the best captain, if only trophies will be counted, then the consideration of inconsistency won’t be there. Here we are with the ranking all the current IPL captains as per there win percentage. KL Rahul, the Kings XI Punjab’s captain will be captaining the side for the first time and hence, he is not included in the rankings.

Here’s the list:

7. Virat Kohli | 110 Matches | Win percentage: 44.5

Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli. (Photo: Sandip Mahankal/IANS)

Virat Kohli, the captain of Indian team is leading Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) since 2013. He is the highest run-getter in the cash-rich league. However, his performance as a skipper hasn’t been as good as expected. Despite reaching the finals three times, RCB was not able to win the trophy even once.

The team have always had prominent batsmen like Virat Kohli himself, Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers and many other allrounders. Still, the batting heavy team was never able to find a balance in their side and never tasted success in the mega event. The win percentage of 44.5 tells us that the side led by Virat was never able to find the consistency they were looking for.

His leadership has been similar in International cricket as well. Under his captaincy, India lost the World Cup semifinal against the New Zealand last year. Kohli has been criticized about not giving his players a long rope and making them insecure about their place in the side. However, the RCB squad looks quite promising this season and he would like to make his record better.

6. Dinesh Karthik | 46 Matches| Win percentage: 47.2

Dinesh Karthik IPL
Dinesh Karthik. (Photo: Kuntal Chakrabarty/IANS)

Dinesh Karthik leads Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL. The franchise has a rich history and has been captained by Sourav Ganguly, Brendon McCullum and Gautam Gambhir in the past. Though Ganguly’s inclusion in his home side was the biggest hype for the franchise, Gambhir was there most successful captain.

After taking over, Karthik’s performance as a skipper has not been too bad. His team finished at 3rd and 5th positions respectively in the last two seasons. However, his underachievements at the International level leads to his criticism in IPL as well. Despite bringing in Eoin Morgan, the World Cup-winning captain for England, KKR kept their faith in Karthik for the upcoming IPL 2020.

Karthik is a cool and composed customer. His ability to finish the games is highly reliable but his stature as an international player faced criticism. With the signing of Morgan and Pat Cummins, KKR is looking a strong side to finish in the top 4 on the points table.

5. Shreyas Iyer | 24 Matches | Win percentage: 54.2

Shreyas Iyer
Shreyas Iyer. (Photo: IANS)

In 2018, Shreyas Iyer became one of the youngest full-time captains in the history of IPL. After Gautam Gambhir decided to drop himself from the Delhi Capitals’ line up, Iyer became his successor based on his outstanding form. He has been performing quite exceptionally with the bat and looked very cool-headed as a captain.

Last year, the young Delhi side reached the playoffs under his leadership, though they were not able to reach the final game. This time, Capitals have added several experienced players, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ajinkya Rahane are the Indian stars added to the squad. With the perfect blend on experience and youth, Iyer would be looking to clinch Delhi’s first title.

With a win percentage of over 50, his performance as a skipper can be considered above par. Iyer is also looked up as the next potential captain of the Indian team. If can lead his side to better results in IPL, national selectors might be keen to look at him as a future leader.

4. David Warner | 47 Matches | Win percentage: 55.3

David Warner
David Warner. (Photo: IANS)

David Warner is the only third overseas captain to clinch an IPL title. He led Sunrises Hyderabad (SRH) to win IPL 2016. His performance as a skipper was phenomenal and he has been a great force as a batsman too. The southpaw is thr only player to win the orange cap thrice in the IPL.

Warner’s ability to lead from the front has been his eye-catching quality. He will be back as the captain of SRH after Kane Williamson was offered the same role last year. The SRH side won a few very close games while fielding second in 2016 and Warner received a lot of praise for his influential captaincy that season.

Apart from his leadership, SRH’s side highly depends on his batting credentials as well. The opening partnership between him and Jonny Bairstow is the driving force of the Hyderabad’s batting line up. With the team depending on its foreign players mostly, Warner’s role in selecting the right playing eleven is quite important this season.

3. Rohit Sharma | 104 | Win percentage: 57.7

Rohit Sharma of Mumbai Indians
Rohit Sharma of Mumbai Indians. (Photo by IANS)

Rohit Sharma became the captain of Mumbai Indians after Ricky Ponting decided to drop himself from the side in 2013. The young captain took one of the most celebrated franchise to the victory after being under pressure due to the dismal performance in the first few games.

Rohit is known as the most successful captain in the IPL as Mumbai Indians won the trophy, four times under his leadership. Apart from his captaincy, 2013 came as a breakthrough year for the Mumbai lad as he transformed himself into a gun batsman and now, he is arguably the most important cog in Mumbai’s system.

He will be leading the defending champions into another season of IPL this year. The most important qualities of Rohit as a captain is known to be the planning and the tactful method he follows. Also, a lot of players have applauded him for supporting his players a lot in order to give them much needed confidence.

2. Mahendra Singh Dhoni | 174 Matches | Win percentage: 59.8

MS Dhoni
MS Dhoni of Chennai Super Kings in action. (Photo by: Surjeet Yadav/IANS)

Arguably the most influential captain in the IPL history, Mahendra Singh Dhoni is known for his calm and composed nature. The stumper is known to make instant decisions based on his intuitions and his cheeky calls do the trick for Chennai Super Kings, more often than not. He is one of the most reliable finishers of the game and his class as a skipper and player is second to none.

The Ranchi lad has taken the yellow army to three IPL titles. He is the only captain from inaugural season to lead the same side in 2020 as well. After retiring from international cricket, Dhoni’s role will grow as a captain cum mentor in this season.

As his deputy, Suresh Raina has pulled out of the tournament due to personal reasons, the 39-year-old will have an added responsibility. His team looks very strong on paper and will be looking to win their fourth title this season. With an n percentage of almost 60 in spite of being the most capped skipper, Dhoni’s amazing numbers tells us his success story by themselves.

1. Steve Smith | 29 Matches | Win percentage: 65.5

Steve Smith, IPL, IPL 2019
Steve Smith. (Photo: IANS)

Steve Smith, the number one ranked Test batsman in the world is at the top of the chart here as well. He led Rising Pune Supergiants in 2017 and finished as runner up. Before the tournament began, the team management was highly criticized for taking the captaincy from Dhoni and handing it over to Smith, but the move worked quite well for the franchise.

Smith will be leading Rajasthan Royals in the upcoming tournament. He was made the captain, midway during the 2019 edition. The New South Welshman is regarded as one of the best batsmen in the world and will look to form a strong batting force with Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes to make it a successful season.

While leading an IPL side, Smith has been the most captain and this could be the reason why Rajasthan Royals gave him the lead role instead of veteran Indian cricketer, Ajinkya Rahane. After serving his 2 years ban from leadership role because of the ‘sandpaper gate’, the star batsman is in line to be reassigned Australia’s captaincy. Smith’s captaincy figures are better than any Indian captain in the Indian Premier League and that tells us how proficient he has been in this role.

Sourc – Crictracker

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