3 players from England to have captained in an IPL match
The Indian Premier League (IPL) is into its 16th season. During the first few seasons of the IPL, English cricketers were not allowed to play the entire IPL season and had to leave midway due to international duties.
However, the past few seasons have witnessed English players being available for the entire IPL season. To date, only three English players have captained an IPL team. Out of the said three players, two have captained in the last three years. Here is a look at the three players:
#1 Kevin Pietersen
Kevin Pietersen was the first player from England to lead an IPL team. He captained Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in six matches during the 2009 IPL season before leaving for international duties. He tasted success in two of the six games and lost four.
He then captained Delhi Daredevils in the 2014 IPL season and had a horrendous run during the said season. He won only one of the 11 games he captained.
KP did not enjoy much success in the IPL as a skipper and in 17 matches, won only three matches leading his team.
#2 Eoin Morgan
England's 2019 World Cup-winning captain led the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in 24 matches across IPL 2020 and 2021. He took over captaincy duties from Dinesh Karthik mid-way through IPL 2020 and continued leading the team till the end of IPL 2021. He tasted success in IPL 2021 when KKR ended the season as runners-up.
Overall, he enjoyed a win percentage of 47.91 as the KKR skipper, winning 11 and losing 12 of the 24 matches with a game-ending without any result. His captaincy worked wonders for the KKR franchise and many young Indian players like Venkatesh Iyer and Shubman Gill blossomed under his captaincy.
#3 Sam Curran
Captain Sam! 🤩
#LSGvPBKS #JazbaHaiPunjabi #SaddaPunjab #TATAIPL https://t.co/b470EIvzdZ
Sam Curran created history by becoming the most expensive player to be sold in the history of the IPL. He was acquired by the Punjab Kings for a whooping sum of Rs. 18.50 crores during the IPL 2023 auction.
Sam Curran became the third English player to lead an IPL team when he captained Punjab Kings in a match against the Lucknow Super Giants on April 15, 2023.
Shikhar Dhawan, the regular skipper, was nursing a shoulder injury and Curran took over captaincy duties in his absence. Curran bowled exceptionally well in the game and picked up three wickets for 31 runs in his four overs.