IPL 2023: Rating all captains in the tournament

MS Dhoni and Hardik Pandya (Photo Source: Pankaj Nangia/Getty Images)

The blockbuster 2023 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) concluded with the nail-biting final contest between Gujarat Titans (GT) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the Narendra Modi Stadium. On D-Day, Ravindra Jadeja showcased nerves of steel and pulled off a five-wicket victory for Super Kings on the last two deliveries of the tournament

Following the heartbreaking defeat, Hardik congratulated CSK for their win and also praised Dhoni for his incredible captaincy. At the end of the tournament, Dhoni got his hands on the distinguished trophy but during the competition, there were ten other captains who got a lot of attention for their captaincy performances. Among skippers, some looked confident while a few failed to deliver desired results to their teams.

Discussing more, here are the ratings of all captains in IPL 2023

10. Aiden Markram- 4/10

After witnessing Aiden Markram’s solid leadership skills for their SA20 League team, Sunrisers Eastern Cape, the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) team management handed the captaincy mantle to Protea in the IPL. Ahead of the tournament, SRH fans were expecting the veteran to clinch the title after seven years.

In the initial games, the Protea looked positive as he succeeded in bagging a couple of games with his captaincy. However, things started going wrong for him as he consistently struggled to reinforce the team with his batting. His flop shows with the bat affected the team negatively and at the end of the season, Sunrisers ended up at the bottom of the table.

Talking about his overall batting performance, the 28-year-old concluded his season, scoring 248 runs with just one fifty in 13 matches, at an underwhelming strike rate of 125.88. Noting his vast experience and talent, SRH must have expected him to shine with his bat and captaincy but these numbers clearly prove that the veteran delivered below-par performances.

9. David Warner- 5/10

In Rishabh Pant’s absence, Delhi Capitals (DC) trusted David Warner to captain their side in the 2023 season. Warner, who has played a lot of cricket in the cash-rich league, is known for excellent batting and leadership qualities. Back in 2016, the Australia veteran also won the IPL trophy for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) as a captain.

Noting his achievements, DC fans were excited to see Warner as their captain. However, unlike the 2016 IPL edition, he looked defensive as both batter and skipper. Under him, the Capitals lost their first five games on a trot and with this, the left-handed batter came under fierce criticism.

With the 27-run defeat at the hands of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the 55th match held at the Chepauk Stadium, DC’s hopes to qualify for the playoffs got washed entirely. Capitals concluded their journey in the ninth position with five wins and nine losses, and during their campaign, Warner chipped in with 516 runs in 14 matches, at a dismal strike rate of 131.63.

8. Shikhar Dhawan- 6/10

After parting ways with Mayank Agarwal in 2022, Punjab Kings (PBKS) appointed Shikhar Dhawan as their captain for the 2023 IPL season. With quality players such as Sam Curran, Kagiso Rabada, Liam Livingstone, Arshdeep Singh, and Sikandar Raza, PBKS were seen as a dangerous side.

Under Dhawan, Punjab started well as he led the team from the front and won the first two matches with brilliant knocks. In the 18th match, the skipper got injured against Gujarat Titans (GT), and following his injury, Sam Curran got a chance to captain the team for the next three matches.

In the 38th match, Dhawan returned to the team but couldn’t win games with his leadership skills. At the end of the round-robin stage, Punjab ended in the eighth position, with six wins and eight losses in their 14 games. However, Dhawan became the leading run-getter for Punjab, with 373 runs in 11 innings of 11 matches, at a strike rate of 142.91.

7. Nitish Rana- 6/10

With Shreyas Iyer’s unavailability, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) named Nitish Rana their skipper for the 2023 installment. Going through Rana’s captaincy record in domestic cricket for Delhi, KKR trusted him to hand over the reins of the team.

In their maiden IPL 2023 match, they lost against Punjab Kings (PBKS) at the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) Stadium. Following the defeat in the first match, they came back stronger and won two consecutive games against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Gujarat Titans (GT).

Their performance later went down as they lost four back-to-back games. Throughout the tournament, Knight Riders remained inconsistent under Rana’s ineffective captaincy and concluded their campaign in the league round in the seventh spot, with six victories and eight losses in 14 games. Rana’s batting numbers were decent in the competition as he became the second-highest run-scorer for Kolkata with 413 runs in 14 games, at a strike rate of 140.95.

6. KL Rahul and Krunal Pandya- 7/10

Despite witnessing KL Rahul’s poor run with the bat, Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) continued him as their captain in the 2023 IPL edition. With Marcus Stoinis, Kyle Mayers, Nicholas Pooran, and Mark Wood in the squad, Rahul was expected to shine as a leader and bring the cup home in their second season.

Lucknow kicked off their campaign positively with a 50-run victory over Delhi Capitals (DC), in the third match held at the EKANA Stadium, but Rahul’s performance in the game was extremely disheartening as he went back to the pavilion, scoring only eight off 12. Later, Lucknow succeeded in getting the better of quality teams such as Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), and Rajasthan Royals (RR) but Rahul faced the wrath of former players and fans for his poor batting shows.

After the 43rd match against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), he got ruled out of the tournament due to an injury and from there, the captaincy went into the hands of Krunal Pandya. Krunal led the team to the playoffs stage but couldn’t take ahead of the Eliminator match as Mumbai Indians (MI) hammered them by 81 runs in the massive game in Chennai. During Lucknow’s campaign, one thing remained common in both Rahul and Krunal and that was their inability to perform according to expectations.

5. Sanju Samson- 7/10

This IPL season, Rajasthan Royals (RR) went into the tournament as favourites to win the title. With international names as Jos Buttler, Shimron Hetmyer, Trent Boult, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Yuzvendra Chahal, RR were looking for quality performances from their team under their young and dynamic captain, Sanju Samson.

In the first leg, the Royals performed exceptionally and won five out of seven contests. However, the team failed to continue their form in the second round of the league stage as they could win only two matches out of their five games. With a comprehensive 112-run defeat against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in match 60, RR’s net run rate got badly hit.

In their last league game, RR vanquished Punjab Kings (PBKS) comfortably by four wickets, but that wasn’t enough to take the team to the next round. With seven wins in 14 games, the Royals ended up in fifth place on the points table, deprived of a spot in the playoffs. In Rajasthan’s unsuccessful campaign, Samson played a major part as he failed to turn up against bowlers. The 28-year-old amassed only 362 runs in 14 matches at a strike rate of 153.38.

4. Faf du Plessis- 7.5/10

Faf du Plessis delivered remarkable numbers to Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), in the batting department. Scoring 730 runs in 14 matches at a fine strike rate of 153.68, he became the second-leading run-scorer in the competition, following Shubam Gill, who won the IPL Orange Cap with 890 runs in 17 matches at a strike rate of 157.80.

Despite Du Plessis’ extraordinary batting displays, Challengers failed to qualify for the next round as the Protea got unsuccessful in extracting quality performances from his middle-order batters. Except for the captain Du Plessis, Virat Kohli, and Glenn Maxwell, all other batters put up disastrous shows with their bats.

The stylish South Africa player strived his best to take the team to the next round, along with Kohli, Maxwell, and Mohammed Siraj but the fiasco of other RCB stalwarts embarrassed him consistently. In the final game of the round-robin stage, the Challengers had to win the match against Gujarat Titans (GT) to advance to the playoffs, but the indisciplined performance from bowlers shattered their dream to lift the trophy.

3. Rohit Sharma- 7.5/10

Rohit Sharma played only a handful of knocks in this IPL installment from his bat. Accumulating only 332 runs in 16 matches at an underwhelming strike rate of 132.80, he emerged as one of the biggest failures for his side. Following his failure against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the 49th match at the Chepauk Stadium, former India player, Krishnamachari Srikkanth came hard on the veteran saying, “I would have dropped No Hit Sharma from Mumbai Indians’ playing XI.”

The former India stalwart had a reason to get miffed with Rohit as the MI captain was consistently undermining Mumbai with his unimpressive batting. With some spunky efforts of Suryakumar Yadav and Cameron Green, MI qualified for the playoffs but in the crucial knockout games, Rohit’s batting affected Mumbai negatively.

Against Gujarat Titans (GT) in Qualifier 2, Rohit was expected to step up and give a ferocious start to his team while chasing 234 but he felt the pressure and gave his wicket to Mohammed Shami after scoring eight runs off seven balls.

2. Hardik Pandya- 9/10

Hardik Pandya couldn’t hand the second trophy to Gujarat Titans (GT) with the five-wicket defeat against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the IPL 2023 final but the veteran impressed his team’s supporters with his aggressive captaincy skills. Riding on his leadership talent, Gujarat played two consecutive finals of the league, and this achievement couldn’t be belittled due to just one loss.

Like their debut season, Gujarat became the table-toppers again in the 2023 league round, as well, under Hardik. Throughout GT’s campaign, Pandya looked confident and dominated his opponents with his magnificent captaincy and batting.

Against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at the Ekana stadium, he held his nerves in the intriguing contest and led his team to a seven-run win with his amazing 66 off 50. In Gujarat’s terrific campaign as runners-up, the 29-year-old chipped in with 346 runs in 15 innings of 16 matches, at a strike rate of 136.75.

1. MS Dhoni- 9.5/10

MS Dhoni proved his mettle in IPL 2023 with his outstanding captainship. Under his guidance, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) won their fifth title and became the joint-most successful IPL franchise, along with Mumbai Indians (MI). In the entire tournament, Dhoni’s tactics indicated that he is thinking about the future of CSK.

During the competition, the 41-year-old came under fierce criticism for batting down the order, but CSK’s bowling coach, Dwayne Bravo, defended him and said that Dhoni wants to give other players more responsibility. As a batter, Dhoni couldn’t do much for Super Kings, but as a wicketkeeper and captain, the legendary player delivered standout performances.

Confronting the powerful GT side in the final game at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Dhoni’s responsibility was to utilize his experience and skills to conquer the opponents. With the bat, he got dismissed on a duck but earlier, in the first innings, he hunted the crucial wicket of  GT’s explosive batter, Shubman Gill, behind the wickets and displayed alacrity.