IPL captains who dropped themselves
A captain often forms the fulcrum of any team. It can also be said that a captain is only as good as his team, but an inspirational leader can derive the best out even a relatively mediocre team. A captain has to lead by example and very often the course of a game can be changed by a simple hunch of the captain, hence it becomes imperative for a skipper to win the trust of the captain and make sure that his name is first on the team sheet.
It goes without saying that a captain has to be present at the forefront and has to always be ahead of the game, but for any of this to materialise he should be convinced of his own abilities and his worth. Captaincy becomes a lonely job if the person is not performing and this then affects his decisions.
In the previous seasons of the Indian Premier League there have been instances where the appointed captain has had to ‘drop’ himself to restore and maintain the balance of the team.
We look at 5 such players who benched themselves because they have been under-performing and were not contributing enough.
1) Kumar Sangakkara (Deccan Chargers)
After an ordinary run in IPL 2012, Kumar Sangakkara stepped back and also ‘dropped’ himself as the captain of the now defunct Deccan Chargers. Australian Cameron White stepped in in place of Sangakkara, who had to take this step to make way for four overseas player.
This move did not yield the desired results as Deccan Chargers could never get going in the tournament and most probably the uncertainty in their leadership had a bearing on their performance.