IPL 2019: 3 teams that might get new captains mid-season

It’s that time of the year again where fans across the world divide India into eight parts and start supporting their favourite cities and their favourite franchises. The 12th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is less than a fortnight away and the teams are gearing up for the big Indian festival. Over the years we’ve seen a lot happen in the IPL, before the season and even during the season.

Injuries, chopping and changing of players and also, change of captaincy. There have been multiple occasions where captains have been changed due to various reasons. Gautam Gambhir dropped himself from the Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) side last year midway and Shreyas Iyer became the skipper. Ricky Ponting did the same while playing for Mumbai Indians (MI) back in 2013.

In their maiden season, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) had Kumar Sangakkara and Cameron White leading the side. Thus, with the World Cup just a couple of months away, we could have a similar situation in the upcoming season. Thus, we look at three teams who might have new captains mid-way through the season.

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) – Manish Pandey

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) reached the final last year and lost to Chennai Super Kings (CSK). They topped the group stages as well as they won 9 games out of 14. Ahead of the season last year, they were dealt with a huge blow when David Warner was suspended for one year due to his involvement in the ball-tampering saga that broke out back in March last year in Cape Town. However, Kane Williamson stepped in beautifully and not only filled the captaincy void but also didn’t allow SRH to feel the absence of the premier batsman.

Williamson’s captaincy was top-notch and he led from the front. He won the Orange Cap as he amassed 735 runs throughout the season. However, though New Zealand board has allowed their players to play the full IPL, Williamson’s recent injury might turn the story. The Kiwi skipper suffered a minor shoulder injury in the second Test against Bangladesh and didn’t take any part in the game (after he was dismissed) on the last two days. Moreover, New Zealand will not want to lose their best batsman and captain just ahead of the World Cup.

While Williamson is almost certain to play the IPL, he might take a few games off to manage his workload. Hence, SRH might need a new skipper and it could be Manish Pandey. The Karnataka batsman has never captained an IPL side yet but does have captaincy experience. He was appointed as the captain of Karnataka mid-way through the Vijay Hazare Trophy last year in September.

Under Pandey’s captaincy, Karnataka made it to the semi-final of the Ranji season (he played just five games though) and now have remained unbeaten in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Hence, Pandey might be a good option if SRH needs a new captain at any point in this season.