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The 17th edition of the IPL bandwagon will begin with a scintillating curtain raiser between the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and the Royal Challengers (RCB) in Chennai on March 22.
While the usual million dollar questions like 'will this be MS Dhoni's last IPL', 'who will have bragging rights between CSK and MI', and 'will RCB finally win their maiden title' have dominated the off-season, a few captaincy moves have upstaged even these.
All-rounder Hardik Pandya traded to his first franchise, Mumbai Indians (MI), from Gujarat Titans (GT) and subsequently replacing Rohit Sharma as captain sent shockwaves around the IPL. Furthermore, Aussie skipper Pat Cummins was trusted with the keys to lead SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH), replacing Aiden Markram.
The 2024 season will also witness the talented Shubman Gill make his captaincy debut for GT, while Delhi Capitals (DC) will welcome back their regular skipper, Rishabh Pant.
With all the buzz around the captains for various reasons, it is only fair we rank the 10 IPL captains for the 2024 season.
#10 Shikhar Dhawan
Despite being one of India's most accomplished white-ball batters and an IPL stalwart, Shikhar Dhawan has been found wanting as captain.
While the 38-year-old boasts an impressive record as an Indian skipper with eight wins and five losses, his IPL numbers as a leader are below par. Dhawan led the SunRisers Hyderabad and Punjab Kings (PBKS) in 2014 and 2023, but both sides failed to qualify for the playoffs.
SRH finished sixth with six wins in 14 games in 2014, and PBKS finished with the exact record and table position last year with Dhawan at the helm. His overall record of eight wins in 22 games with two sixth-place finishes does not make for pretty reading.
PBKS will desperately hope Dhawan can conjure up some inspiration and lead the side out of a nine-year playoff drought since 2014.
#9 Shubman Gill
Shubman Gill is the only one on this list with no prior captaincy experience at the IPL or international level.
The 24-year-old will have the gigantic shoes to fill of Hardik Pandya, who led GT to a title run and a final in 2022 and 2023, respectively. Gill has captained in India's domestic competitions, Duleep and Deodhar Trophy, to mixed results.
He led the India Blue squad in the 2019-20 Duleep Trophy, followed by captaining India C in the Deephar Trophy the same year. While India Blue lost both matches and finished at the bottom in the Duldeep Trophy, Gill led India C to the top of the table in the Deodhar Trophy before losing to India B in the summit clash.
However, the IPL is a different kettle of fish, with Gill's captaincy mettle likely to be tested as he looks to overcome the loss of Hardik and the injury to pace spearhead Mohammad Shami and continue GT's outstanding first two seasons.
#8 KL Rahul
KL Rahul will hope to use all his captaincy experience to help the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) take the next step after two early playoff exits in 2022 and 2023.
The 31-year-old has ample leadership experience at the IPL and international level, having led the PBKS in 2020 and 2021 before captaining LSG the last two seasons. Under Rahul, PBKS mostly underachieved despite excellent starts, finishing with sixth-place finishes in 2020 and 2021.
His performance improved drastically as LSG skipper, with the side finishing third on the points table in 2022 and 2023 before coming up short in the playoffs against RCB and MI.
Nevertheless, with 51 matches under his belt as an IPL captain, Rahul will look to improve on his win-loss record of 25-26 in the upcoming season.
#7 Sanju Samson
Sanju Samson's Rajasthan Royals (RR) captaincy stint over the last three years has oscillated between extreme highs and lows. In his first season as RR skipper in 2021, the 29-year-old led the side to a dismal seventh-place finish.
However, a renaissance of epic proportions followed as Samson manfully marshaled the troops to a final run in 2022. Yet, with massive expectations of lifting the trophy last season, RR fell apart in the second half of the season to shockingly miss the playoffs.
Despite the ups and downs, Samson boasts a reasonable 22-23 win-loss record in his 45 games as IPL captain.
#6 Shreyas Iyer
Shreyas Iyer is one of only 10 captains to have led an IPL side in over 50 matches. Yet, his success as captain for the Delhi Capitals was somewhat neutralized by his lone season leading KKR. After missing the playoffs from 2013 to 2018, Iyer transformed the franchise's fortunes from the 2019 season.
The 29-year-old took over after a torrid start in 2018 and immediately helped the side qualify for the playoffs in 2019. DC took the next step the following season in 2020 and made their first-ever final under Iyer's captaincy.
However, his lone season as KKR captain in 2022 was a downer as the side finished a disappointing seventh despite a fantastic start. Nevertheless, Iyer boasts a winning record of 27-26 in his 53 games as IPL captain.
#5 Rishabh Pant
While the cricketing world will welcome the return of Rishabh Pant after his tragic accident in December 2022, he has his task cut out to turn around Delhi's fortunes from last year.
Pant led the side in the 2021 and 2022 season with reasonable success. DC finished on top of the points table in 2021 but suffered heartbreaking defeats in both playoff matches to miss out on qualifying for the grand finale.
However, Pant could not sustain similar performances in 2022 as DC finished fifth to miss out on playoff qualification. Yet, the wicketkeeper-batter still has a positive record as IPL captain, with 16 wins and 13 losses in 30 games (1 No Result).
#4 Faf du Plessis
Taking over as captain from Virat Kohli can be daunting, yet Faf du Plessis has led RCB admirably over the past two seasons. With the franchise still searching for its maiden IPL silverware, the 39-year-old took them ever-so-closer in 2022.
RCB defeated LSG in the Eliminator before coming second best to RR in the second qualifier. However, they took a step backward last year, finishing sixth despite winning half of their 14 games.
Apart from the IPL, Faf also boasts a mountain of captaincy experience at other domestic leagues and international cricket. The champion cricketer led South Africa in 112 games across formats with an excellent win percentage of over 61.
Faf's IPL captaincy record reads 14 wins in 27 games, and he will look to guide RCB to their ultimate goal of winning the elusive title.
#3 Pat Cummins
Australian skipper Pat Cummins will hope to bring his lucky charm to the IPL when he leads SRH in the upcoming season. With the franchise enduring a dismal previous three seasons, including a bottom-placed finish last year, the 30-year-old has been entrusted with resurrecting the sinking ship.
Cummins has no noteworthy captaincy experience at the T20 level but has fried bigger fish as skipper for Australia. The talismanic cricketer astutely led the Aussies to the World Test Championship and ODI World Cup title last year.
He boasts an incredible record as Australian captain, winning 28 of his 42 games with nine losses and five draws.
Having won both their titles under an Aussie skipper (Adam Gilchrist and David Warner), the Orange Army will hope for the trend to continue in the upcoming IPL edition.
#2 Hardik Pandya
Hardik Pandya will undoubtedly be the most scrutinized captain of IPL 2024, having replaced the highly successful Rohit Sharma at the helm for the Mumbai Indians.
Yet, the 30-year-old has displayed he isn't one to buckle under the pressure of expectations. Hardik led first-timers Gujarat Titans to a dominant run in IPL 2023 that culminated with a sensational title win.
The charismatic all-rounder almost made it back-to-back titles last season until the side ran into the Chennai Super Kings juggernaut in the finale and lost in a last-ball finish. Hardik boasts an outstanding T20 captaincy record at the IPL and International levels.
With 22 wins in 31 games as IPL captain, he boasts a remarkable winning percentage of over 70. With a strong MI squad at his disposal, Hardik will hope to make his return to the franchise memorable.
#1 MS Dhoni
It is a no-brainer that MS Dhoni tops the list of IPL captains for the 2024 season, thanks to his inimitable record at every level. The 42-year-old became the first captain to lead an IPL franchise (CSK) in over 200 games last season.
Dhoni capped the season off by leading CSK to its fifth IPL title and second in the previous three years. The IPL titles apart, Dhoni has also led the franchise to two Champions League T20 trophies and India to three ICC titles.
The legendary cricketer has helped set an unmatched culture and structure in the CSK setup, enabling consistent results over the years.
As the only IPL captain with over 100 wins, Dhoni's place at the top of the mountain remains unparalleled.
