IPL 2021: 5 Captaincy records which Rishabh Pant can break this season

Ahead of the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), the runners-up of IPL 2020, Delhi Capitals were dealt with a massive blow as their skipper and India’s ace batsman Shreyas Iyer dislocated his shoulder while fielding in the first One Day International of the three-match series against England.

Iyer will be ongoing a major operation and hence has been ruled out of the entire IPL 2021 that will run from April 9 to May 30 in India across six venues namely Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai, and Kolkata. With Iyer ruled out, Delhi Capitals have decided to name the young Rishabh Pant as the new leader of the squad. 

As Pant is all set to don the captain hat for the first time, the 23-year-old will be looking forward to making the upcoming tournament memorable and will have his eyes set on the few captaincy records. Therefore, let’s take a look at-

Captaincy records that Rishabh Pant can break in IPL 2021

Youngest captain to win IPL title

Delhi Capitals are one of the top contenders for winning the trophy in the 2021 edition of the T20 Extravaganza. The side boasts of having a competitive squad with a perfect mix of young and experienced players. If Rishabh Pant becomes successful in leading the Delhi-based franchise to glory in IPL 2021, then the batsman will register himself as the youngest captain to win the IPL title.

At present, the record is held by Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma who had won the IPL title when he was just 26 years and 26 days old. Rohit was made the captain of the MI squad in 2013 when Ricky Ponting had decided to hang his boots in the league. The ploy by Mumbai proved to be a masterstroke as the right-hander was successful in helping the team win their first T20 title.

Since then, there has been no looking back for Rohit as under his leadership Mumbai has emerged as the most successful team having won the IPL five times in 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2020. Rishabh Pant is eligible for breaking this record as the youngster in just 23 years old.

The first captain to lead Delhi to a title win

Since the inception of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2008, Delhi Capitals have been trying to get over the line and win their maiden T20 trophy. However, despite all the efforts, the franchise is still waiting to get hold of the title. The other two franchises apart from Capitals, who are yet to win the IPL are Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Punjab Kings (PBKS).

Since the past two seasons, Delhi has been on a rise under the leadership of Shreyas Iyer and has performed exceptionally well. The 2019 edition saw DC reaching the semi-finals but getting eliminated after losing against Chennai Super Kings (CSK). In 2020, the team took a step ahead and reached the finals for the first time. However, they had to face defeat as Mumbai Indians lifted their fifth title.

Now, Rishabh Pant will have the responsibility of carrying forward the momentum and helping the team win their maiden IPL title. This way the wicketkeeper-batsman will also script history by becoming the first captain to lead Delhi to glory.

Most runs by a keeper-captain in one IPL season

The 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) hosted by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) witnessed KL Rahul donning the captain hat for the first time for his franchise Punjab Kings ( formerly known as Kings XI Punjab). Though the franchise failed to make it to the second stage of the tournament, Rahul was highly impressive with the willow.

Opening the innings for Punjab, Rahul proved to be nothing less than a nightmare for the opposition as in 14 games, he amassed a whopping 670 runs at an average of 55.83 and strike rate of 129.34. His stint also included five half-centuries and one century. On the back of a spectacular show with the willow, KL Rahul had won the Orange Cap along with scoring the most runs as a keeper-captain in a single IPL season.

The candidate who is most appropriate for giving Rahul a tough competition and going past him to score most runs as a keeper-captain has to be Delhi’s newly-appointed skipper Rishabh Pant. The 23-year-old has been in a stunning form with the willow and will be eying this record by Rahul in his maiden stint as captain.

Most runs in maiden IPL season as captain

The 2018 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) saw Kane Williamson leading the 2016-champion Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). Their regular captain David Warner was prohibited from playing the league due to his involvement in the ball-tampering scandal. However, SRH wasn’t much affected by the absence of Warner as Williamson performed brilliantly both as the batsman and leader.

Under the New Zealand skipper, the Orange Army reached the final, and Kane emerged as the highest run-getter and a proud owner of the Orange Cap by scoring a whopping 735 runs in just 17 games. That was Kane’s maiden season as the skipper of any IPL team.

This time, Rishabh Pant has the opportunity of naming this record. The 23-year-old is likely to go past Kane in this tally as he has been in fine form in the international circuit and delivered many match-winning performances for India during the just-concluded England tour of India.

Most wins in maiden IPL season as captain

One of the most glorious captaincy records of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is captured by Australia’s veteran captain Shane Warne. Warne holds the record of winning most matches in maiden IPL season as captain i.e 13. In the inaugural edition of the T20 Championship, the Australian veteran was handed the responsibility of leading the Rajasthan Royals.

The 51-year-old didn’t disappoint and the team topped the points table with 11 wins from 14 games. This was followed by Rajasthan emerging victorious in the semi-finals and finals to take their tally of a win to 14 games and become the first team to win the elite trophy.

Playing his maiden IPL season as captain, Rishabh Pant has a chance to break this illustrious record by Shane Warne.