Mumbai: 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 broad-based; 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.
Pat Cummins led Sunrisers Hyderabad to runners-up last season and they have kept faith in the Australia skipper. Rajasthan Royals saw something special in Sanju Samson much before the national selectors did, and he will continue to steer their ship.
MI retaining Hardik as captain seems a brave call despite the consternation his appointment resulted in, inside the team and among fans. However, they have made their call known before entering the auction, and this time the senior players are on the same page.
Over to the auction
The four teams yet to taste success – Punjab Kings (PBKS), Delhi Capitals (DC), Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Lucknow Super Kings (LSG) – would have tried to find a captain without relying on the unknown variables of the auction. But there were disagreements with the candidates; in some cases over price tag, in others an absence of mutual trust.
LSG owner Sanjeev Goenka’s loss of faith in KL Rahul’s leadership had become so open that parting ways was the only mutual agreement possible. DC wouldn’t have let Rishabh Pant go but for the change in operational control between the two co-owners. “My retention wasn’t about the money for sure, that I can say,” Pant posted on X on Tuesday. According to a team official, “Pant would have remained captain but his ambit in decision making was being limited after co-owners GMR Group took charge”. The strained relationship has resulted in one of the game’s most free-flowing players coming back to the marketplace.
RCB looking past Faf du Plessis, 40, in a new auction cycle was understandable. There has been speculation of Virat Kohli returning as captain, but given he has bigger challenges ahead on the international front, they would rather explore other options.
PBKS had little choice. With Ricky Ponting taking over as head coach, there is a big likelihood of him wanting to re-align forces with Pant. PBKS come with the biggest auction purse and it may come as no surprise if they go chasing the left-handed dynamo.
Expensive price
To have enough cash on hand is a pre-requisite to chase a captain down through bidding wars. For a player, therein lies the opportunity to win a jackpot. If DC have the room to use the Right To Match card when Pant’s bidding is at play, no matter which team he ends up with, he would be laughing his way to the bank.
That’s precisely how a certain category of players become considerably richer during mini auctions. With franchises preferring Indian captains and few candidates available in the auction, expect the cast around for captain to be decisive in revealing the highest price tags. Shreyas Iyer and Rahul, both out of India’s T20I mix, may benefit.
The bidding may ease up if franchises are open to overseas captaincy picks like Aiden Markarm, Jos Buttler and Mitchell Marsh. LSG could even settle for former West Indies skipper Nicolas Pooran, who they have retained. DC too has a leadership option in the experienced Axar Patel. But they want to explore the auction room first.
That’s how KKR may have thought when Shreyas’ name was being considered for retention. Perhaps the franchise felt it was Gambhir’s mentoring that won them the 2024 title more than the leadership of Shreyas. Which makes Shreyas the first IPL winning captain up for auction in the next edition. He will not become a bargain buy though. When there are many suitors in the IPL auction room, the bid comes with a premium attached.
