3 Teams Who Will Have New Captains For 2nd Phase Of IPL 2021
The IPL 2021, which has been rescheduled in UAE is also going to witness several captaincy changes.
The Indian Premier League has seen many changes in the past three editions and out of all, the changes in the captaincy for a franchise has always been a topic to discuss. While the team results and their own performances have been a major reason, a few have caused due to injuries or other avoidable reasons.
The IPL 2021, which has been rescheduled in UAE is also going to witness several captaincy changes. The international commitments and their respective cricketing boards’ refusal to give them the NOC will likely cause a considerable number of players to miss the remaining part of the Indian Premier League. However, it remains to be seen if it would affect the teams for the better or not.
In this article, we will look at the three franchises which can see changes in their captaincy for the remaining part of IPL 2021.
1. Delhi Capitals
Shreyas Iyer, who led Delhi Capitals to the final of the Indian Premier League last year, injured his shoulder while diving during an India game ahead of the tournament this season. The player needed surgery, which ruled him out of the tournament with Delhi naming Aniruddha Joshi as his replacement.
However, with the IPL being suspended midway due to the rising Covid-19 cases within the bubble, there are chances that Iyer could return to the side once the tournament resumes in September in the United Arab Emirates.
While Rishabh Pant has done an outstanding job for the Capitals so far and the franchise barely felt Iyer’s absence, the 26-year old’s presence in the middle-order should further strengthen their batting. Shreyas’ captaincy record is also worth appreciating, leading the franchise to 23 wins out of 41 games. In addition, his numbers with the bat are decent, accumulating 2200 runs in 79 matches at 31.43.
2. Kolkata Knight Riders
The dates for the UAE leg is between September 17 to October 10 where the remaining 31 games including the playoffs and the final will be played. Meanwhile ahead of the start of the second half, two-time IPL winners KKR are in a spot of bother.
With ECB announcing that they will not send its players for the second half of the season, they will miss their regular skipper Eoin Morgan. They will also miss Pat Cummins who was a potential replacement for Morgan for the leadership role.
However, it is yet to be seen that who will take charge in his probable absence. Keeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik looks like the most suitable candidate to take the job. Karthik is the most experienced player in the KKR camp in Morgan’s absence and he leads the race for captaincy in Morgan’s absence. Karthik’s appointment as skipper will also allow KKR to field an extra overseas player in the form of Lockie Ferguson in place of Pat Cummins who will be unavailable in the UAE leg.
3. SunRisers Hyderabad
Sunrisers Hyderabad might not have the services of Kane Williamson when the IPL resumes as his international commitments will be the priority and this opens up another dilemma in the Sunrisers squad. The sacking of David Warner will certainly haunt them if Kane Williamson isn’t available and they will have to look for other options.
Their campaign in IPL 2021 has not gone well so far and they have been struggling to find any momentum. It is going to be an uphill task from here on if they have to make it to the playoffs but there isn’t any doubt of their capability. Moreover, it remains uncertain who will don the captain’s hat for the UAE leg if the Williamson and Warner remains unavailable.
