Strongest all-time IPL XI featuring only captains
An IPL team might have a star-studded batting line-up like Royal Challengers Bangalore or a competent bowling department like Sunrisers Hyderabad. However, that still does guarantee the prospect of getting their hands on the silverware.
More than the individual performances, a team in IPL requires a leader who can bind the team and help them produce collective performances. A captain is the fulcrum of any IPL team in the two-month long cricketing extravaganza.
Having a competent leader has proved to produce success stories for teams like Kolkata Knight Riders, Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians. But what if we have these star captains lined up in one all-time XI? It could be the most power-packed, experienced and strategic IPL XI possible.
Eligibility criteria required to be considered for this list is that the player should have captained in IPL for a minimum of 20 matches. Thereafter their captaincy skills, individual performances with the bat, ball and as wicket-keeper are taken into consideration. It should be noted that these choices are also made keeping in mind the balance of the XI.
#1 Gautam Gambhir (Kolkata Knight Riders, Delhi Daredevils)
Captaincy Record: Matches - 129, Won - 71, Win percentage - 55.03
Gautam Gambhir might struggle to find a bidder in the upcoming auctions for 2019 season, but he is among the top three captains and the 4th highest run-getter in the short history of IPL. He has scored 4218 runs in 152 innings at an average of 31 and strike rate of 123. His strike rate doesn’t look impressive compared to a Chris Gayle. His role was to hold the team batting together while the others batted around him. He did that effectively as the numbers suggest.
Gambhir’s first captaincy stint with Delhi in 2010 wasn’t impressive. It is his association with KKR that transformed both the franchise and his career. The left-hander was the highest paid player when the Knight Riders picked him for $2.4 million in 2011. The investment has yielded good returns for them. In his seven years as captain of KKR, he has led them to five playoffs, won two titles and was the batting anchor of the team.