Possibly one of the hardest jobs in cricket is leading a team. The captain is the hero while the team is performing well, but when the squad is struggling, the same hero receives a tonne of criticism. The same goes for the Indian Premier League where captains have the tough job of leading teams with huge fanbases. Indian captains like Gautam Gambhir, Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni have been successful while leading their respective franchises. But there have been some overseas captains who have impressed everyone with their amazing captaincy skills. Here is a look at some of the best overseas captains in IPL history.
Steve Smith
In the lucrative Twenty20 tournament, Steve Smith has proven to be a bankable name. He has played in 103 IPL games and scored 2485 runs with a 128.09 strike rate. The 33-year-old has occasionally been given the responsibility of leading the squad in the IPL and he has excelled in that capacity.
When designated skipper Shane Watson was out with an injury during the early parts of the Indian Premier League’s 2015 season, Rajasthan Royals gave Smith command of the franchise. Smith, led the squad to four straight victories. Steve guided the Rajasthan squad to the playoffs after being named the team’s official captain later in the season.
Smith was given the responsibility of leading Rising Pune Supergiant in 2017, and the star batter excelled in the position. Pune played some outstanding cricket under Steve’s leadership and advanced to the tournament’s finals. He has overall captained an IPL team 43 times and performed exceptionally, guiding his team to 25 victories.
Shane Warne
There have been few players of Shane Warne’s calibre among Australia’s many match-winners. He made the entire globe of cricket his happy hunting ground and used variations to confuse batters. The renowned cricketer teased batters with his cunning, and his remarkable bowling performances ignited the IPL.
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Warne played in 55 of the T20 tournament’s games and claimed 57 wickets at an economy rate of 7.27. Additionally, he was a wonderful captain and performed admirably in the IPL setting.
In the first IPL season, Shane was appointed captain of the youthful Rajasthan Royals team. On paper, RR appeared to be relatively weak because they lacked international calibre players, unlike the majority of IPL franchises. But what happened next was just amazing.
Warne developed the inexperienced cricket team into match-winning players and elevated Rajasthan to a power position. In the end, RR made history by winning the IPL championship. Up until 2011, the legendary Australian captain led the Rajasthan side to 30 victories in 55 games.
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David Warner
The Indian Premier League has produced a giant of a player in David Warner. With his ferocious bat, he has destroyed bowlers and established his dominance on the cricket pitch. The southpaw has played in 167 games, scoring 6109 runs with a 139.63 strike rate.
In addition, Warner has been a master game reader who has guided his team to numerous illustrious victories. 2015 saw the flamboyant batter named Sunrisers Hyderabad’s commander-in-chief. Even though SRH struggled in Warner’s first season as captain, the Hyderabad team excelled in the subsequent year.
In the ninth IPL season’s championship game, the Warner-led Hyderabad team defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore and won the trophy for the first time. Additionally, under David’s direction, Sunrisers advanced to the knockout rounds of the lucrative league’s 2017 and 2020 seasons.
Also Read: Top 10 forgotten IPL stars
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