IPL 2021: Rishabh Pant can break these five captaincy records this season
Ahead of the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), the runners-up of IPL 2020, Delhi Capitals were dealt with a massive blow as their skipper and India’s ace batsman Shreyas Iyer dislocated his shoulder while fielding in the first One Day International of the three-match series against England.
With Iyer ruled out, Delhi Capitals have named Rishabh Pant as their new leader for the season. As Pant is all set to don the captain hat for the first time, the 23-year-old will be looking forward to making the upcoming tournament memorable and will have his eyes set on the few captaincy records. Here are some of them.
Youngest captain to win IPL title
Delhi Capitals are one of the top contenders for winning the trophy in the 2021 edition of the T20 Extravaganza. The side boasts of having a competitive squad with a perfect mix of young and experienced players. If Rishabh Pant becomes successful in leading the Delhi-based franchise to glory in IPL 2021, then the batsman will register himself as the youngest captain to win the IPL title.
At present, the record is held by Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma who had won the IPL title when he was just 26 years and 26 days old. Pant is eligible for breaking this record as the youngster is just 23 years old.
The first captain to lead Delhi to a title win
Since the inception of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2008, Delhi Capitals have been trying to get over the line and win their maiden T20 trophy. However, despite all the efforts, the franchise is still waiting to get hold of the title. In the past two seasons, Delhi have featured in the playoffs and last year, they fell just one step short of winning the title.
Now, Rishabh Pant will have the responsibility of carrying forward the momentum and helping the team win their maiden IPL title. This way the wicketkeeper-batsman will also script history by becoming the first captain to lead Delhi to glory.
Most runs by a keeper-captain in one IPL season
The 2020 edition of the IPL witnessed KL Rahul donning the captain hat for the first time for his franchise Punjab Kings ( formerly known as Kings XI Punjab). Though the franchise failed to make it to the second stage of the tournament, Rahul was highly impressive with the willow. Opening the innings for Punjab, Rahul amassed a whopping 670 runs at an average of 55.83 and strike rate of 129.34. He won the Orange Cap along with scoring the most runs as a keeper-captain in a single IPL season.
The candidate who is most appropriate for giving Rahul a tough competition and going past him to score most runs as a keeper-captain has to be Delhi’s newly-appointed skipper Rishabh Pant. The 23-year-old has been in a stunning form with the willow and will be eying this record by Rahul in his maiden stint as captain.
Most runs in maiden IPL season as captain
The 2018 edition of the IPL saw Kane Williamson leading the 2016-champion Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). Under the New Zealand skipper, the Orange Army reached the final, and Kane emerged as the highest run-getter and a proud owner of the Orange Cap by scoring a whopping 735 runs in just 17 games. That was Kane’s maiden season as the skipper of any IPL team. This time, Rishabh Pant has the opportunity of breaking this record.
Most wins in maiden IPL season as captain
One of the most glorious captaincy records of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is captured by Australia’s veteran captain Shane Warne. Warne holds the record of winning most matches in maiden IPL season as captain i.e 13 which he achieved for Rajasthan Royals in the inaugural IPL edition. Playing his maiden IPL season as captain, Rishabh Pant has a chance to break this illustrious record set by Shane Warne.
