The Indian Premier League is hailed by many as the toughest T20 competition on the planet. Many great players have played in the IPL over the last 12 years, but not everyone was successful in living up to the expectations. The pressure of the IPL is so much that even some legendary players have struggled in the tournament.
The most challenging task in the Indian Premier League is the job of the captain. He not only needs to focus on his individual game but also ensure that the team combination is perfect and the team owners are happy with the performance. While the franchises prefer to have an Indian skipper, here are the five instances when an Indian captain handed over the reins of his team to a foreigner in IPL.
1.Dinesh Karthik to Eoin Morgan in IPL 2020
The most recent entry on this list is from the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League. Dinesh Karthik led the Kolkata Knight Riders in the first half of the season. However, since there was no proper balance in the team, he relinquished his position.
The team management then appointed their initial vice-captain Eoin Morgan as the new skipper. The left-handed batsman from England had helped his nation win the ICC World Cup in 2019. Thus, the franchise decided to nominate him as the new captain.
2.MS Dhoni to Steve Smith in IPL 2017
While the Kolkata Knight Riders have changed their captain in the middle of the season, the Rising Pune Supergiant did the same before IPL 2017 started. They had chosen MS Dhoni as their team’s captain for the 2016 edition of the IPL.
However, as RPS could not qualify for the playoffs, the owners replaced Dhoni with Steve Smith. Pune performed exceptionally well in IPL 2017 as they made it to the finale and finished runners-up.
3.VVS Laxman to Adam Gilchrist in IPL 2008
VVS Laxman did not have a great IPL career. He will be remembered as one of the best Test batsmen in cricket history, but his IPL records were not so great. The Deccan Chargers had selected him as their captain in the first season of IPL.
However, the Deccan Chargers struggled to make an impact in that season. Before the tournament, Adam Gilchrist had become the team’s skipper, and in 2009, he led the team to the championship.
4.Ajinkya Rahane to Steve Smith in IPL 2019
Last year, Ajinkya Rahane could not lead the Rajasthan Royals to perfection. In 2018, he had taken the side to the playoffs despite Steve Smith’s absence. However, when Smith returned in 2019, the team management sacked Rahane after eight games and gave the captain’s position to the Aussie.
RR could not make it to the Top 4 in that season. In IPL 2020, they have won only three out of their first eight games despite having all the star players available.
5.Shikhar Dhawan to Darren Sammy in IPL 2014
Shikhar Dhawan was the captain of the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the 2014 season. However, the team could not replicate its performance 2013, and so SRH replaced Dhawan with Sammy.
There were not any significant changes in SRH’s fortunes. Subsequently, David Warner became the skipper and took the team to the title in 2016.
