With Hardik Pandya named as the captain of the Indian cricket team for the Ireland tour, the board and fans are looking forward to the next era of captains past the big names of MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant have also been captains of the national side in recent times. Pant, who led India in the South Africa T20 series at home, also captained Delhi in the Indian T20 League in 2021 and 2022. KL Rahul has also been captaining the Punjab team and more recently, Team Lucknow.
KL Rahul
KL Rahul has been captaining in the Indian T20 League since the past three years, first with the Punjab franchise and more recently, with Lucknow. Overall, he has captained 42 matches and won 20 of them, with his most successful season coming in 2022 as Lucknow qualified for the playoffs. With a win record of exactly 50 percent (two non decided matches), KL is deemed as a rather conservative captain. This comes from his slow batting approach while chasing.
Rishabh Pant
Rishabh Pant has also been leading the Delhi franchise for the last two years. His record in the league has been better, albeit with fewer games captained. He has led in 30 matches, while winning 16, at a win percentage of 55. Under his tutelage in 2021, Delhi finished top of the league stage. The left handed wicketkeeper batsman has been termed as an unorthodox captain by the experts, and is still learning his craft.
Hardik Pandya
The swashbuckling all rounder was appointed as the captain of his newly formed home franchise in Gujarat. In a splendid season, he led them to the title of the Indian T20 league in spectacular fashion, winning 11 of 15 matches. His win percentage thus is a superb 73.33 percent. He has been described as a risk taker and captains the way he plays - fearlessly.
Shreyas Iyer
The most experienced IPL captain on the list, Shreyas Iyer captained the Delhi franchise and shifted to the Kolkata franchise last year after the mega auction. He is thought to be a patient and calm captain. He has captained 55 matches in the Indian T20 league in a span of 2018-2022, missing out in 2021 due to injury. Out of these 55 matches, he has won 27, at a win percentage of 50.9.
Four players, four leaders and four styles. It is an abundance of leadership riches that India currently has, and it is yet to be seen as to who is groomed into the full time captain of Team India.
Featured photo: AFP / INDRANIL MUKHERJEE
