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Prediction: Skippers of franchise in IPL 11
By Aditya Pratap - Jan 31, 2018 12:37 pm
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The mega-auction for the Indian Premier League 2018 is done and dusted. Only a few teams were able to crack a solid combination of players while some are still not a balanced side. With the construction of new squads, few teams are all set to take a field with a new skipper and Delhi Daredevils is the best example of it.

Let’s have a look, who can be the skipper of respective franchise;

Mumbai Indians

After successfully taking Mumbai to three IPL titles, Rohit Sharma is all set to lead this team in another season. With several changes in the team, Rohit has a big task to make a stable and winning XI, but MI successfully kept their powerhouse, which can make Rohit’s job quite easy.

Also Read: Mumbai Indians' player list

Royal Challengers Bangalore

Virat Kohli has seen tremendous success since getting the reins of Indian National Team but he still has to taste the same success in this T20 league. Despite being star-studded, RCB is still waiting for their maiden IPL title. Kohli is all likely to lead this team in another season and he will be eyeing on to the title this time as Bangalore has one of the most balanced teams in the tournament.

Chennai Super Kings

CSK is making a comeback in the tournament after serving a two-year ban and Mahendra Singh Dhoni is also set to sit on the throne of the franchise. Chennai retained Dhoni and also made it clear that he will be captaining the side.

Sunrisers Hyderabad

David Warner has taken Hyderabad to touch the silverware in 2016 being an inspirational leader and he will be at the helm this time as well. In last three IPLs, he won the orange cap twice (2015 and 2017) while once he ended being the second highest run-scorer, only behind Virat Kohli’s staggering 973 runs. Hyderabad was the smartest buyers in the auction and they ticked all their boxes with the most balanced side.

Rajasthan Royals

Captaining Rising Pune Supergiants, Smith returned from the winner’s podium just to concede the trophy to Mumbai Indians. Another comeback franchise double R will be under the leadership of Australian skipper and they want the same talisman from him, which he produced last year. Rajasthan has several big names in their squad being it Ben Stokes or Jofra Archer, they have lots of match winners.

Delhi Daredevils

Not retaining Gauty raised few eyebrows over Kolkata Knight Riders, but DD was very eager to bring the local boy back. This will be Gambhir’s second stint with Delhi, but between these appearances, he has won IPL twice with his former franchise KKR. After buying him in the auction, Coach Ricky Ponting, straightaway, announced that he may lead the team this year.

Also Read: Gambhir may lead DD in IPL

Kings XI Punjab

KXIP was on a shopping spree during the recently concluded auction, but they forgot to buy any skipper for their team. Ravichandran Ashwin and Yuvraj Singh are the two most likely names who can lead the team this year, but nothing has confirmed so far. Captain’s name has always been a ‘Musical Chair’ game for this team as they changed their captains whenever they felt so. However, this season, KXIP will be eyeing to give reins to one player and it will be interesting to see who will wear this crown of thorns.

Kolkata Knight Riders

The two-time champion KKR is the most messed up team after the auction of IPL 2018. Not retaining GG can prove a very costly move for them. Like KXIP, they also forgot to buy an established captain for their side. Despite having match winners like Mitchell Starc and Chris Lynn, no one seems to be an experienced skipper for the team. Robin Uthappa and Dinesh Karthik are the likely contenders to captain KKR this time around. However, Lynn has prior experience of captaining Brisbane Heat in the Big Bash League, which may strengthen his case to be appointed as the leader.