IPL 2008 was the first edition of the Indian Premier League. The BCCI launched the competition with the aim of giving a new platform to youngsters to display their talent. Also, it was an exciting tournament for a cricket fan, who always wanted to see his favorite players from different nations play for the same team. It was not possible in international cricket, but IPL made it happen.
None of the teams or the franchise owners had much idea of how to build a team, pick a captain and form playing XIs for the IPL in the 2008 season because it was a new season. Some teams figured it out quickly, whereas others made errors, learned from mistakes and finally got their combinations right.
A majority of the team chose their first-ever captains in IPL with a long-term vision, but there were two such players who led an IPL franchise in the inaugural season but never captained again in another season.
1. VVS Laxman captained only in IPL 2008
Hyderabad-based Deccan Chargers signed veteran Indian batter VVS Laxman as their icon player and named him the captain as well. Laxman led the team in six matches, where the team recorded only one win. The team suffered five losses, and Laxman’s win percentage as captain was only 16.66%.
Australian wicket-keeper batter Adam Gilchrist took over the reins of DC from Laxman. In 2009, DC became the IPL champions under Gilchrist’s captaincy.
2. Shaun Pollock
Former South African cricket team all-rounder Shaun Pollock got an opportunity to lead the Mumbai Indians squad in 2008. Sachin Tendulkar was initially named the captain of the team, but he was injured, so, MI named Harbhajan Singh as their captain.
Singh then got involved in a controversy with Punjab Kings player Sreesanth. After that, Pollock led MI in four matches, where the team recorded three wins. Pollock did not participate in the 2009 season.
