When Mumbai Indians (MI) let Hardik Pandya go ahead of the 2022 Indian Premier League (IPL) auctions, their decision was in part owed to the player’s fitness. In and out of the Indian team due to injuries, Pandya has not played a one-day international since mid-2021 or a Test match since 2018.
MI's decision not to retain Pandya was a surprise only because the team had practically built the all-rounder’s career. From the time he hit a 31-ball 61 against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in 2015, Pandya was one of MI’s flamboyant stars. He made his international debut the following year and has played over a hundred limited-overs matches for the country.
In the auctions, newly formed team Gujarat Titans (GT) promptly grabbed Pandya and made him their captain. MI’s win over GT on Friday—only their second in the league so far—notwithstanding, the difference between the teams is stark.
GT is on top of the points table in the ongoing IPL 2022, having won eight of their 11 matches (as of May 7, 2022, and before Lucknow Super Giants' match against KKR on Saturday). MI is at the bottom of the 10-team league, having won just two of their 10 matches, after losing the first eight.
One of the architects of GT’s ascent is Pandya. With 333 runs at an average of over 40, Pandya is fifth among scorers in the IPL so far, leading a new team by example. He is GT’s top scorer so far besides also taking four wickets, a few times while opening the bowling attack. His and GT’s success are an affirmation of not just his leadership skills, but also his fitness levels.
The points table is also an indicator of how closely a captain’s performance is related to the team’s outcome.
In second place is the other new team, Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). Their leading scorer is their captain K.L. Rahul. With 451 runs at an average of over 55 and a strike rate of over 145, with two centuries to boot, Rahul is also second in the scorers’ list this IPL. Lucknow have won seven of their 10 matches so far.
Third on the points table is Rajasthan Royals (RR), led by Sanju Samson. He is the team’s second highest scorer so far, behind Jos Buttler who with three centuries and three scores over 50 is playing at a different level. Samson is not doing badly either, his 298 runs have come at an average of 33-odd and a strike rate of over 150.
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) surprisingly occupy the fourth spot in the table—from here on, the teams keep shuffling positions every other match. Their highest scorer is Faf du Plessis, also the team captain after Virat Kohli relinquished the position at the beginning of the season. Du Plessis’ 316 runs put him in 10th spot among this season’s top scorers.
Next is Delhi Capitals (DC), whose leading scorer is opener David Warner. But captain Rishabh Pant is second to Warner; his 260 runs coming at an average of 32.5, with him batting fairly high up in the order. Though he does not have a score over 50 yet, only twice has Pant failed to get into double figures, with a highest score of 44.
Heading into the bottom half of the points table, are teams and captains who have been below par.
Sunrisers Hyderabad, who are sixth, but have shown the potential to do better, have a captain struggling to get going. Kane Williamson is fifth among scorers in his team, his 199 runs coming at an average of just 22-something—as opposed to his overall IPL average of over 37. He has just one score of over 50 this IPL.
Seventh-placed Punjab Kings' (PBKS') new captain, Mayank Agarwal, is their fourth highest scorer, with 161 runs at a little over 20 and just one score over 50. If PBKS has a chance of qualifying for the playoffs, it’s because Shikhar Dhawan is scoring runs at the top of the order, to make up for Agarwal’s lack of it.
There are several reasons why Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and MI find themselves at the bottom of the table, not least because of their captains’ lack of performance. Ravindra Jadeja, who led CSK at the beginning, gave up captaincy recently to focus on his game. With 116 runs at an average of under 20, and five wickets, he justifiably felt he could do better.
M.S. Dhoni, who first handed captaincy to Jadeja and then got it back, has played a few critical knocks, and with 142 runs at 28.40 is not doing too badly—unless compared to his career IPL numbers of 4,888 runs at an average of almost 40.
Rohit Sharma, who has won several titles for MI as skipper, is fourth in their team’s list of scorers this season, his 198 runs coming at under 20. Sharma is the third highest scorer in all IPL, but his lack of runs this season at the top of the order has adversely affected MI.
The only exception to the above examples is KKR, whose captain Shreyas Iyer is the team’s leading scorer this season, though not a hugely impressive 324 runs at 36. KKR is in eighth spot at the moment.
There are many factors that decide a team’s performance, but a captain’s confidence—driven by his own performance—plays a significant role in the team’s morale.
Before the start of the league, former India coach Ravi Shastri said the IPL will provide an opportunity to see how some of the younger players, like Pandya, Iyer, Pant and Rahul, captain their teams “because India will be looking for a solid captain for the future”. A title, which will come on the back of a captain’s cricketing skills, will endorse the captain’s leadership skills.
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