Kumar Sangakkara - A misfit for the Sunrisers Hyderabad

Kumar Sangakkara has been a tremendous captain for Sri Lanka – has led from the front, captained the side with astute intelligence and has always had a plan to make the most of the resources he had. But for the Deccan Chargers – now the Sunrisers Hyderabad – the story has been a different one. Earlier, with the Kings XI Punjab as well, he didn’t have a record he could boast of, and the story just seems to continue.

Post the 2011 IPL auctions, Sangakkara has been one of the important members of the Deccan Chargers unit, but he has been one of the worst-performing captains in the IPL. Overseas captains seem to have been the worst-performing captains; is it because of the fact that they have less time on their hands; or their unfamiliarity of the local talent; or their packed schedules with their own international teams? Having said that, there have also been international captains who have done wonders for their teams, like Shane Warne – who led the Rajasthan Royals to the maiden IPL title and Gilchrist who led the Deccan Chargers to the title in season 2, being named Man of the Series himself.

However, Sangakkara has had no such luck. From 2010 till 2013, he has captained 43 games and has won 15, while he has lost 28 of them with a win percentage of 34.88%. His counterpart, Mahela Jayawardene – who has led Kings XI Punjab, Kochi Tuskers Kerala and now, the Delhi Daredevils – has been captain for 20 games and has won 7, with a win percentage of 35%. Adam Gilchrist, captain of Kings XI Punjab and the Deccan Chargers, has led his teams in 64 games, winning 29 and losing 35 of them, having a win percentage of 45.31%. Daniel Vettori, who led the Royal Challengers Bangalore for 2 seasons, has a win percentage of 54.55%, having captained 22; won 12 and lost 10. Shane Warne has the best win percentage amongst all the overseas captains in the IPL who have captained a minimum of 15 games, that of 56.36%, having won 31 and lost 24.

In this season of the IPL, Sangakkara in particular hasn’t contributed too much to the Sunrisers outfit; their strength has been their bowling and all the games they’ve won till this stage has been because of their bowlers. In 5 games this season, he has scored 84 runs with a high score of 28, at an average of 16.8. His strike rate also is a reflection of the sort of form he has been in – 95.45. Sangakkara hasn’t even kept wickets, and if he isn’t contributing with bat or as a wicket-keeper, then the Sunrisers might see him as a liability in terms of occupying one place in the team of a foreign player. Hence, he dropping himself couldn’t have been more fitting and well-timed, handing the reigns of the team to Cameron White – who is doing a decent job with the team. As good a player as Sangakkara is and as many laurels as he has had for Sri Lanka, if the Sunrisers Hyderabad want to make the playoffs, they will have to get their mix of foreign players right and Sangakkara isn’t a part of the mix this year.