Former India captain Virat Kohli was the youngest captain in IPL history in 2011 after he got the arm of Royal Challengers Bangalore. The Indian Premier League has witnessed some great leaders arising from the competition over the times with Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, and Suresh Raina among the most prominent names.
Below is the list of the five young captains in the Indian Premier League(IPL).
1-Virat Kohli headed RCB at a very young age
Delhi capitals Kohli always had the leadership but in the presence of Anil Kumble, Kevin Petersen, and Rahul Dravid the youths were not in the reckoning in the original times. (Read Also: The most exciting 8 moments in the IPL 2023 season so far)
Still, it changed in 2011 when the skipper Daniel Vettori got injured for a down institution against Rajasthan Royals and Kohli had asked to lead the side 22 times in 4 months and 6 days. RCB had won Kohli’s first match as an IPL captain by 9 structures with Chris Gayle running the show while Kohli remained unbeaten at 39 on the other hand. Virat Kohli had led RCB in three matches in IPL 2011, winning doubly and losing one in the process. It took another two times before Royal contenders Bangalore made Kohli their endless captain. Kohli captained RCB in 140 matches with a palm chance of48.16.
2- Steve Smith was the young foreign IPL Captain
Steve Smith’s entry into the Indian Premier League was a long time pending. He first roped in New Zealand hard- mega megahit Jesse Ryder’s relief in 2010 by RCB and also as a back-over option by Kochi Team the preceding time, but he couldn’t make innumerable appearances during this period.
After going unsold in the IPL 2012 sale, Smith roped in by Pune Warriors India as Mitchel Marsh ‘s relief and his fortune changed. After the league campaign went south for the new team, captain Sourav Ganguly decided to bench himself. Steve Smith got a place as the new skipper owing to his brilliant overall form. Pune Warriors didn’t win that match either but Smith had gone on to come on the immature captains in IPL history.
The Australian star would subsequently go on to come to the full-time captain of Rajasthan Royals following an emotional stint with Rising Pune Warriors with MS Dhoni playing under him. Under coach Ricky Ponting, Smith was the captain of Delhi Capitals, formerly known as Delhi Devils, as well. Smith has captained 43 IPL matches with a59.52 winning rate.
3. Shreyas Iyer got the task of captaining DC at 23.
The current Kolkata Knight Riders captain Shreyas Iyer had first gotten a taste of captaincy while playing for Delhi Capitals during IPL 2018. when Gautam Gambhir had decided to bench himself owing to poor form. Iyer was captain 23 times, 3 months and 21 days also, and paved his part for the future with an unbeaten 93 in that game. The coming season saw Iyer exhibiting great leadership chops to lead Delhi to the playoffs for the first time in seven times. Iyer bettered the record by witching
Delhi to the final in the IPL 2020 season before losing to Mumbai Indians. Still, what sounded like a dream find for Delhi soon turned into ashes after Iyer got down with a shoulder injury during England’s stint with India in 2021. Delhi had to replace Iyer with Rishabh Pant as their new captain in IPL 2021 and stuck to the enigmatic Gate- keeper indeed after Iyer had returned from injury. Iyer comes to KKR at the reverse of a 53.65 winning chance on his capsule, where he led Delhi to one play-off and a final.
4. 23- years-old Suresh Raina had captained CSK in Dhoni’s absence
Popularly known as China Thala among CSK suckers, Suresh Raina had been MS Dhoni’s deputy since 2010 and was always coming in line to lead the IPL side. During the season, Dhoni couldn’t make it to a down institution against Delhi Devils and Raina got the captaincy part. The Southpaw didn’t let the change in canon affect the team’s instigation and went on to score 49 runs to help CSK chase a target of 186. Raina would subsequently come as the captain of Gujarat Lions when Chennai Super Lords and Rajasthan Royals had suspended for two seasons. The left-handed top-order batsman would go on to lead the Gujarat Titans to the playoffs by finishing at the top of the points table, before losing to eventual winners Sunrisers Hyderabad in the alternate qualifier. Suresh Raina has captained 34 IPL matches with a winning rate of44.11.
5. Rishabh Pant came the fifth- immature captain in IPL in 2021
With an injured Shreyas Iyer witnessing surgery and out for months, Delhi eyes operation had to take a call, and Pant’s heroics in the Border- Gavaskar trophy had made him an established name. The wicketkeeper-batsman didn’t fail also Ricky Ponting’s think tank furnished the perfect balance to the immature leader’s dexterity. After a shaky launch to their campaign where Delhi could win just three of the first six matches, the team gained instigation. They went on to win six of their coming 10 matches, which also included a four-match winning band, to reach the play-off stages. Still, Pant’s debut captaincy season ended, as KKR defeated Delhi in the alternate eliminator to reach the final.
