In search of the right captain

Hunt for captain may decide the highest price tag as half the teams are yet to name their captain for IPL

- Rasesh Mandani

Four of the five franchises who will search for a captaincy candidate in the November 24-25 mega auction have never won an IPL title. The fifth, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), are three-time winners. But every time they won, they had a settled captain.

It goes to show the importance of an on-field captain, even in a league where an army of support staff are at disposal. Even in a format where the analyst is constantly engaged and assists during timeouts.

Often in winning teams the captain's role is more broadbased; he has a say in policy decisions, whether it is player retentions or setting auction targets. MS Dhoni captained Chennai Super Kings to five titles, Rohit Sharma took Mumbai Indians (MI) to five wins and Gautam Gambhir led KKR to two titles with such powers.

It's early days yet for Ruturaj Gaikwad (CSK) and Shubman Gill (Gujarat Titans). But both franchises seem to look at them as long-term leaders. Once Hardik Pandya left, Gill was GT's chosen one. He stays their captain even after the team finished eighth on the points table in IPL 2024. In Gaikwad, CSK sees the same values as in Dhoni. "I know the last captain was pretty cool. But this guy is cut from the same cloth, so that's rubbed through," CSK head coach Stephen Fleming had said after Gaikwad replaced Dhoni as skipper.