IPL 2022 auction: How to pick a winning team

A shrewd captain with constant presence of mind, alive to each and every game situation, can make a huge difference in the IPL. It’s no surprise then that Chennai Super Kings was always a tough team to beat. (Illustration by Suneesh K.)

That Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Mumbai Indians (MI) are the most successful Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises is not up for debate. The two teams have dominated the T20 space in India, with only Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) coming close to their level of excellence. On paper, almost all the teams in the IPL look equally strong and star-studded. It’s the captaincy that makes the difference.

CSK, captained by M.S. Dhoni, never had leadership issues. There’s only one command centre and that’s the captain. In the T20 format, one key decision can swing the fortunes of a match. A shrewd captain with constant presence of mind, alive to each and every game situation, can make a huge difference. It’s no surprise then that Chennai was always a tough team to beat. The same was the case with Mumbai Indians, where Rohit Sharma’s superior decision-making prowess stood out.

So, why is it that IPL franchises do not seem to give adequate importance to choosing the right captain? It’s probably just muddled thinking. Either they are thinking far too much into the future and not choosing the best captain possible at the moment or they are bringing in considerations like having an Indian captain even when they have an experienced international captain in their arsenal.

KKR had Dinesh Karthik as the skipper even though World Cup-winning English captain Eoin Morgan was at their disposal. Delhi Capitals once picked Shreyas Iyer as the captain, trying to groom him for the future. Once Shreyas got injured, they picked Rishabh Pant as the captain and the franchise seems to be staying on with the wicketkeeper batsman, with the former deciding to opt out of Delhi. Shreyas is probably betting on one of the two new franchises, Lucknow and Ahmedabad, picking him as skipper. Delhi Capitals even ignored Ravichandran Ashwin, regarded as one of the sharpest brains in the game, again probably because of his age and keeping the ‘future’ in mind. Kolkata kept playing with Karthik as the captain till it became extremely untenable, giving the leadership role to Morgan only when they absolutely had to.

If you roll back the years, Rajasthan Royals had won the inaugural edition of the IPL back in 2008. It’s worth remembering who the skipper was. It was Shane Warne to led the troops and it’s no surprise that he was able to rally a team, not the best on paper, to win the championship. Warne is regarded in Australian cricket circles as the best ever leader never to have captained the country. He may be a controversial figure off the field, but there was no denying his astute skills as a master tactician. Warne was able to unearth the real talents of people like Ravindra Jadeja and Yusuf Pathan and even got some domestic level players to punch way above their weight, to put together a fighting unit. No one expected them to qualify for the play-off stage, leave alone winning the championship. But such was Warne’s mastery that year that he made a telling difference with every captaincy call he took. Whether it was unconventional fielding positions, the dynamic batting order or ringing in the right bowling changes, Warne was in a class of his own. His bowling was top notch as usual, tying up the batters in knots during the middle overs. That was the last time, Rajasthan Royals won the cup. Now, they are one of the struggling units in the IPL. Even till this date, many former Australian cricketers believe that Warne should have captained Australia at some stage of his career.

It was a similar case with Adam Gilchrist and the Deccan Chargers (now Sunrisers Hyderabad). Deccan Chargers won the IPL with Gilchrist at the helm. It was one cracker of a squad with Herschelle Gibbs partnering Gilchrist at the top of the order and Andrew Symonds coming in in the later stages of the match. Fast bowler Ryan Harris was one big discovery for them. He was a surprise package who consistently took wickets at crucial phases. Again, Gilchrist’s tactical nous played a big role in the team becoming a formidable outfit. For many years after that the team struggled, up until David Warner took over the reins. Warner brought in fresh energy into the squad, with his aggressive brand of captaincy, not to mention his rocket like starts as an opening batter.

The upcoming IPL auction is bound to again focus on buying star players, who have big reputations and carry along a marketing brand. Way too much importance has been given to buying certain players who franchises believe are X-factor players. More often than not, such moves have failed in the IPL. Rajasthan Royals breaking the bank to buy Chris Morris was a case in point. Punjab Kings banked on Glen Maxwell far too much, but the move did not come off as expected. He was sold to Royal Challengers soon after.

Franchises may have now learned that having a tactically sound captain and a solid set of Indian players (teams can have only a maximum of four overseas players in the playing XI) are essential to have a championship winning team. Even Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) have been struggling on that front. Though an experienced captain, leading both the Indian team and the franchise, Virat Kohli has not been able to get RCB over the line, with former players like Gautam Gambhir (under whom KKR have won the IPL) being extremely critical of his captaincy skills in the IPL. Kohli has finally stepped down from captaincy, with criticism growing stronger each year.

RCB always seemed to neglect the importance of having good Indian utility players or unearthing a sparkling talent from the domestic circuit. These are aspects that a team like CSK ensures, year after year. The way Dhoni has used Ambati Rayudu earlier and now Ruturaj Gaikwad is a case in point. RCB, on the other hand, banks on super star players like AB De Villiers or Chris Gayle. Like MI and CSK always prove, picking a dependable and consistent XI is important. Constant chopping and changing of the playing XI can unsettle the team. Assigning a clear role to each and every player is important and that should not stop with the overseas superstars alone.

Captaining a T20 squad is different from leading a Test team. IPL is a long-drawn tournament which rewards tenacity, resilience and consistency. And the skipper needs to stay on top of the game at all times. One over can change the outcome of a match. The margins are that fine.