Five instances of captains dropping themselves from playing XI in IPL

The Indian Premier League (IPL) is renowned as one of the biggest sports events in the world. With time, the game is evolving and is becoming more competitive which ensures that the players are constantly under pressure to perform well and make their team win. This becomes more intense when a player is leading a side as he has an additional responsibility of captaining the squad and living up to the expectations of the fans. There have been several instances in the history of the T20 extravaganza when the captains have succumbed to this pressure and have dropped themselves from Playing XI. However, some showed brilliant examples of selflessness as they refrained from playing a particular match either to provide balance to the team or to give chances to the younger players.

Here are some instances when the IPL captains dropped themselves from the eleven:

5. Ricky Ponting (Mumbai Indians)

Australian great Ricky Ponting joined Mumbai Indians in the 2013 edition and was handed the responsibility of leading the team. However, this move proved to be a disaster for the team as Ponting could neither contribute with the bat nor with his leadership skills. Acknowledging this change in him as a player and captain with his growing age, Ponting decided to hand over the captaincy of the team to Rohit Sharma in the middle of the season and graced the bench. Rohit then helped the Mumbai-based franchise win their maiden title in 2013.

4. Kumar Sangakkara (Deccan Chargers)

In the 2012 edition, Kumar Sangakkara took a selfless decision of handing over the captaincy of Deccan Chargers to Victorian all-rounder Cameron White. Sangakkara took this decision after DC lost its 5 out of seven games in the league and was desperately looking for a victory. The Sri Lankan veteran also dropped himself from playing XI to provide the required balance to the team. However, the decision was no good as the team lost the game to Mumbai Indians under the leadership of White and Sangakkara resumed his duties again from the next game.

3. Adam Gilchrist (Kings XI Punjab)

KXIP management roped in the Australian great Adam Gilchrist as their captain in a hope to clinch their maiden IPL title. However, despite having an excellent IPL record, Gilchrist couldn’t do much for Punjab as he was struggling to find his form with the growing age. Thus, the out-of-form skipper decided to hand over the captain duties to countryman David Hussey and dropped himself from the playing XI to give chances to other overseas players like Shaun Marsh and Luke Pomersbach who were sitting on the bench.

2. Daniel Vettori (Royal Challengers Bangalore)

IPL franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore started off their 2012 campaign with great spirits, however, the team was soon found to be on the receiving end after losing two consecutive matches. Also, abiding by the rule of only 4 overseas players, the quality player Muttiah Muralitharan was sitting on the bench as Chris Gayle, Tillakaratne Dilshan and AB De Villiers formed the batting line-up while New Zealand’s Daniel Vettori was the captain of the troop. This is when Vettori decided to make a sacrifice and stepped down as a captain and player and made Muralitharan play the next game. Vice-captain Virat Kohli was named as the captain of the squad.

1. Gautam Gambhir (Delhi Capitals)

The veteran Gautam Gambhir was backed by an excellent record of winning the IPL title two times for Kolkata Knight Riders when Delhi decided to rope him in for the 2018 edition. However, the move was not fruitful for the franchise as Delhi lost five out of the first six games it played in the tournament. Taking the responsibility for the loss, Gambhir dropped himself from the captain duties and playing XI. He then made the dynamic in-form Shreyas Iyer as the captain of the troop and decided to never play the league again.