IPL 2018: Scrutinizing the captains
Now that every team has played a game each in the IPL 2018, this is a good time to see how their respective captains went about their business in the opening fixtures.
While a single match is not enough to decide the course of the teams through this long tournament, it will be interesting to use this and compare it against future results.
Some captains like MS Dhoni and Gautam Gambhir have been doing this for a long time, and are well versed in the nuances of the game, but, this IPL has also thrown into our midst some new captains like Kane Williamson and Ravichandran Ashwin.
Here's a look at how the different captains fared in their respective opening fixtures:
#1 Ravichandran Ashwin
Ravichandran Ashwin, separated from his beloved Chennai franchise, is the captain of Kings XI Punjab, who won their first game against Delhi Daredevils.
While historically, most captains tend to be batsmen rather than bowlers (probably because this lets them focus on the field without worrying about their own bowling), Ashwin was chosen to lead the side over the more experienced Yuvraj Singh.
Being a spinner, Ashwin's bowling selection rotated around his spinning department, with the pacers providing support, rather than the other way around. The three spinners in his side - Ashwin himself, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Axar Patel - bowled 11 overs and scalped 4 wickets with an economy of 8.14.
His field setting was also on point, being an experienced bowler himself, but his team selection in the future will depend a lot on if Yuvraj gets into some form.
At the current form, he is a huge liability for the team, as his innings of 12 from 22 showed. With Manoj Tiwary raring to go from the bench, Ashwin might have a huge decision to make soon.