Some teams have changed their captains ahead of the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). However, the newly appointed skippers are expected to cope up with the high expectations of their franchises in order to come up with flying colours.
Star all-rounder Hardik Pandya has replaced veteran batsman Rohit Sharma as the captain of the Mumbai Indians (MI). However, several fans of MI are not happy over the development. They have been trolling Pandya and the franchise hard as they are feeling that the move is an injustice to Rohit who is a hugely successful leader for the franchise.
Under the circumstance, Pandya will feel huge pressure to tackle the high expectations from the fans and the franchise. He has just recuperated from an injury. Taking the triple responsibility of batting, bowling and captaincy will take a huge toll on him.
The scanners will be on Australian pacer Pat Cummins too. With Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) breaking the bank to buy the World Cup and World Test Championship-winning Aussie skipper and appointing him as the captain, results are non-negotiable.
SRH function like a European football club. They have appointed three different captains and coaches in the last three seasons. However, the desirable performance of the team has eluded them. Meanwhile, Cummins’ credentials as a captain and player in T20Is and IPL are very poor. Moreover, he has to tackle bruised egos inside the dressing room which is a very tough job.
Gujarat Titans have appointed promising batsman Shubman Gill as their new captain. Now, as the first-time skipper of Gujarat Titans, Gill, who has no prior captaincy experience, will be hoping for some of that beginner’s luck. He will first need to make senior players like David Miller, Wriddhiman Saha, and Rashid Khan comfortable to play under him which is not that much easy.
Moreover, Gill has to find replacement of star all-rounder Hardik Pandya and veteran pacer Mohammed Shami which is a herculean task. Shami had played a great role in GT’s success last season as he picked 28 wickets. Gill was in prolific form last year. However, the additional pressure of captaincy can affect his batting in this season.