IPL'S COMING OF AGE AT 18

WHEN the Indian Premier League (IPL) made a big splash in the nation's consciousness in the Summer of 2008, one of the themes was readily identifiable.

- SWAROOP SWAMINATHAN @Chennai

WHEN the Indian Premier League (IPL) made a big splash in the nation's consciousness in the Summer of 2008, one of the themes was readily identifiable. Established Indian 'icons' captaining teams (the first match saw Rahul Dravid and Saurav Ganguly walking out for the toss). Elsewhere, Sachin Tendulkar (Mumbai Indians), VVS Laxman (Deccan Chargers) and Virender Sehwag (Delhi Daredevils) were not just established India internationals but they commanded a kind of heft in the global game. You could kind of argue they had kind of become de facto captains because of their seniority and standing in the game.

With the league becoming an adult in 2025, one of the biggest changes to have taken place is the identity of the Indian captains. Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin and Suryakumar Yadav were or are legit captaincy material but team managements have gone for left-field choices, players who don't necessarily scream leadership material, at least from the outside looking in. Mumbai Indians wrote the rules of engagement when they appointed a relative greenhorn in Sharma post the short-lived Rickey Ponting era. But, for a long time, Sharma and Kohli's ascents were an outlier, a dot on the edge of the captains graph.