5 Indian stars whose performance improved after becoming their IPL team's captain
The IPL has allowed young Indian cricketers to showcase their talent on a grand stage and strengthen their candidature for a spot in the international squad. Over the last 14 years, many Indian players have used this platform brilliantly to skyrocket their careers to the next level.
Along with giving new players to the Indian cricket team, the IPL has also provided new leaders to the side. Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul developed their captaincy skills in the IPL before gaining a place in the national team's leadership group.
However, captaincy in the IPL is a considerable challenge. Not every player can lead the team properly in the league. Sometimes, captaincy negatively impacts a cricketer's game, while a few players take the responsibility to perfection and lead the team by example.
In this article, we will look at those Indian stars whose individual performance improved after taking over their squad's reins.
5. KL Rahul
KL Rahul played for the Royal Challengers Bangalore and the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the initial phase of his IPL career. After RCB released him ahead of the 2018 mega-auction, Rahul became a Punjab Kings squad member.
Rahul performed with supreme consistency after joining the Mohali-based franchise. He aggregated over 590 runs each in his first two seasons for Punjab.
The team owners were impressed with his performances, and thus, they appointed KL Rahul as their captain for IPL 2020. Rahul's numbers got even better after becoming the skipper. He amassed 670 runs in 14 innings and broke the record for the highest individual score by an Indian player in IPL history.
Although the Punjab Kings narrowly missed out on a Top 4 spot, KL Rahul seized the Orange Cap award in IPL 2020.
4. Shreyas Iyer
Shreyas Iyer played his first IPL season for the Delhi Capitals in 2015. The right-handed batsman was in great touch during his debut season. In the 14 innings he played for Delhi, Shreyas amassed 439 runs at an average of 33.77.
However, Iyer had his worst IPL season in 2016. He played only six games, aggregating 30 runs at a strike rate of less than 70. Although Iyer had a decent season in 2017, he could not match his 2015 numbers.
Gautam Gambhir handed over the team's captaincy to Shreyas midway through IPL 2018. That decision had a positive impact on Iyer's game.
The Delhi Capitals star smacked a 40-ball 93*, including three fours and ten sixes on his captaincy debut against the Kolkata Knight Riders.
Iyer breached the 450-run landmark in the 2019 and 2020 seasons while playing the role of DC's skipper. His consistency has improved since becoming the skipper.