Gautam Gambhir vs MS Dhoni - Who is the better IPL captain?
It is not a surprising fact that the IPL has escalated the standards of T20 leagues, with its Midas touch that has turned many players into overnight heroes. Apart from being a breeding ground for many youngsters, the tournament has also nurtured several captains throughout the years. Skippers of all ages have taken over the throne- be it Virat Kohli, who was handed over the captaincy at 24, or Shane Warne who guided the Rajasthan Royals to the IPL trophy at 41.
While many teams have had as many as nine captains over the nine editions, a few captains have been with a single team throughout and have constructed their team in their own way. Out of all the captains in the IPL, two of them have constantly been in contention to prove that their respective team is the better one – Gautam Gambhir and Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Having led two of the most successful teams in the IPL, these captains were the driving force behind India's World Cup victories in 2007 and 2011.
There is an evident friction between the two and it has been said they do not share a warm relationship, especially after Gambhir was sidelined from getting a place in the international team. This further escalated when there were reports saying that the two captains refused to shake hands with each other after the match between Delhi and Jharkhand during the Vijay Hazare trophy, though both of them rubbished the rumours later.
The captains, who have been the reason behind Kolkata Knight Riders' and the defunct Chennai Super Kings' two-time title wins have been the powerhouses for their teams and have fiercely tried to emulate each other every season.
Here we analyse who is the better captain in the IPL.
Gautam Gambhir
The 34-year old southpaw, who was initially roped in by his home-team Delhi Daredevils to play under Virender Sehwag, moved to the revamped Kolkata Knight Riders in 2011 and took over as the captain. Leading the team in 105 matches in all competitions, Gambhir has been a lynchpin for the KKR, attacking from the top-order along with Robin Uthappa.
The aggressive opener has set the definition of a 'captain's knock' with his several half-centuries over various editions of the IPL, the recent one being his match-winning 60-ball 90 against Sunrisers Hyderabad on April 16.
Being bought for a record $2.4 million back in the fourth edition of the tournament, Gambhir took the team to the playoffs for the very first time. In the 2012 season, KKR went on to win the IPL trophy with a record of ten wins and five losses after beating the then defending champions Chennai Super Kings in the finals. After a dull 2013 season, KKR again qualified into the finals and lifted the trophy for the second time in 2014.
Gambhir has been applauded for making a burly team out of KKR, but the best words have definitely come from the team's mentor and legendary pacer Wasim Akram, who called him the "best captain of IPL".
Under Gambhir's captaincy, including the Champions League T20, KKR have won 60 matches playing a total of 105 with a win aggregate of 58.17%. In the IPL, as a captain of two teams from 2009 to this edition of the IPL, Gambhir has a 58.01 win percentage, winning 61 out of the 106 games.
Though the skipper has no IPL tons in his bag, he has a total of 31 half-centuries, the most by an Indian player in the tournament. Apart from being a striking batsman for his team, Gambhir has also nurtured several youngsters like Iqbal Abdulla, Suryakumar Yadav and Manvinder Bisla, who have been match-winners for the team several times.
Gambhir has tried to intimidate Dhoni a number of the times with his field settings and had done it recently when he had the former Test captain surrounded by two slips, and fielders at short leg and silly point. Though his outbursts on the field and his cold approach against his rivals have bitten him several times, Gambhir's dedication and his role in cementing KKR's name as one of the most successful IPL teams have overshadowed all the negatives.