All thanks to the franchise-based T20 league, Indian Premier League (IPL), that has been orchestrating the captaincy skills in the players over the past decade. From Virat Kohli to Rohit Sharma, they buckled up their skills in the IPL before they started captaining India on the international level. Kohli became Royal Challengers Bangalore’s skipper in 2011. Rohit Sharma made his debut as Mumbai Indians’ skipper in 2013.
But there will be a time when the current skippers will step down or hang their boots. The franchises will scout for replacements. Many youngsters who are taking part in the Indian Premier League have experienced the heavyweight job of captaincy and can be expected to debut as skippers onde day.
Here are 5 contenders who can be the future captains in IPL:
Shubman Gill
Shubhman Gill, born in Punjab, has the streak of captaincy in the past. Gill has been swishing the baton of captaincy from junior cricket days. Gill was handed over the role of captaining India Blue for the 2019-21 Duleep Trophy and India C for 2019-20 Deodhar Trophy. He became the youngest player to captain a side in the Deodhar Cup. The prodigal talent vice-captained the U-19 team in the International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup 2018.
He has experienced leading Punjab in domestic cricket. The opener is having a dry time with the bat for Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL. But Gill might not take a prolonged summer to bounce back. He has performed well for India in Tests, and assertively an asset to India and any franchise. If he masters his consistency, then he can be seen captaining a franchise one day.
Devdutt Padikkal
Devdutt Padikkal has become a household name after his heroics in Royal Challengers Bangalore’s match against Rajasthan Royals. Many cricket experts heaped praises on him for his maiden IPL century in that match. Meanwhile, Padikkal has been constantly knocking runs in domestic cricket. Many former cricketers have backed him to make his international debut soon.
Virat Kohli also flourished under the umbrella of RCB. If RCB back Padikkal – the Emerging Player of IPL 2020, for a long time, he might lead the franchise in the future.
Prithvi Shaw
A born leader, a sensational batter, Prithvi Shaw has captained several teams. He led Mumbai to lift their fourth Vijay Hazare Cup in March 2021. In that season, Shaw amassed 827 runs and finished as the highest run-scorer of the tournament. In 2018, he captained India U-19 to the triumph. If he replicates his domestic streaks in the IPL seasons, he can snare the captaincy boots in the future.
His career has been that of a rollercoaster rider, got the national call, but his patchy form led to exclusion. Then he went back to the domestic cricket and ticked off the right kind of records.
The IPL franchises are aware of his skills and may utilise his captaincy expertise as well.
Ruturaj Gaikwad
If it is all about how to back the players, then Chennai Super Kings can lead the chart. Ruturaj Gaikwad began his IPL journey with CSK in a mediocre fashion, but CSK stretched their hands to the Pune-born batter. Gaikwad then fired three back-to-back 50s in the last season. IPL 2021 has also been no different for the youngster. The shots selected by the right-handed batter deserve to be painted on the canvas.
The 24-year-old captains Maharastra in domestic cricket and has the potential to captain any franchise in the IPL.
Ishan Kishan
Ishan Kishan has the experience of captaining India U-19. The Jharkhand (born in Bodh Gaya, Bihar) lad has sparks of a captain in him. He takes responsibility and executes plans. The Mumbai Indians have engineered his skills, and playing under a captain like Rohit Sharma would be a bonus to that. If he continues his 2020 IPL form, then earning the job of a captain will not be a daydream. Kishan has already received his India cap.
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