IPL 2019: 3 Teams that could change their captains

With IPL 2019 auction right around the corner, the excitement is scaling new heights. The franchises have started their preparations for the season by releasing and retaining players. The auction will not be one of those bigger ones but nonetheless will be crucial for all the franchises as some of them would be making modest changes to their squad while some others would be in the race to restructure the setup after a horrendous run in the previous season.

Besides a few structural changes, some franchises would also be looking forward to switching their captains ahead of the new season. The reason being the captain has a massive role to play in a team’s success especially in a tournament like the IPL. With matches going into the final overs more often than not, the captain and his decision making make a winning difference. A successful captain is one who can absorb the pressure without letting it radiate onto his team members, eventually extracting the most out of his players.

Be it CSK, MI or KKR, the benefits of appointing an experienced captain are quite apparent. Right from the advent of the league, there have been many instances when the experience of captain has come handy. Thus, let us look at three teams who could change their captains ahead of the upcoming edition of the IPL.

1. Rajasthan Royals

Returning to the fray after serving a 2-year ban, the Royals decided to retain Steve Smith for IPL 2018. The Australian batsman was determined to captain them in the comeback season. However, the ball-tampering saga (March 2018) dwindled the hopes of Smith’s participation in the tournament as BCCI barred the Australian duo (Smith and Warner) from the 11th edition of IPL.

This very incident happened after the auction and thus Ajinkya Rahane was the captain for the season. Howbeit, Rajasthan Royals had a pretty decent run in the tournament under the tutelage of Rahane. They reached the playoffs only to be eliminated by KKR in the Eliminator.

Albeit, in the upcoming edition we could see a change in captaincy heads for the Royals. Steve Smith, who will be completing his one-year ban in March next year, is expected to take over the captaincy reins from Rahane for the 12th edition of IPL. Smith boasts an impressive captaincy record in the tournament. The Australian batsman has captained in 24 IPL games of which he has won 16 while losing 8 with an outstanding winning percentage of 66.67. Most of his wins (9) came for Rising Pune Supergiant in IPL 2017 where they reached the finals.

Moreover, captaincy hasn’t affected his batting as was the case in IPL 2017 where he smashed 472 runs at an astounding average of 39.33 and strike-rate just under 122. Meanwhile, Rahane hasn’t had an outstanding captaincy record in IPL. The Mumbaikar has captained in 16 IPL games with a winning percentage of 43.75. Besides that, captaincy has also taken a toll on Rahane’s batting – a case that was evident in IPL 2018 where he scored 370 runs at an average of 28.46 and a below-par strike-rate of 118.21.

Thus, throwing Smith back into the captaincy bubble will only strengthen the case for Royals as they will be equipped with an experienced leader while giving a sense of free air to Rahane to excel in the batting department.