Indian Premier League’s (IPL) 2021 edition is in its final stage after the completion of league stage on October 10, 2021. Former Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir has commented on the performances of all the four captains who have led their respective teams in the playoffs. Gambhir has lauded Royal Challengers Bangalore’s (RCB) captain Virat Kohli’s captaincy skills but did not refrain from taking a dig at Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain Eoin Morgan. The former KKR skipper still considers CSK captain MS Dhoni to be no. 1 and thinks Rishabh Pant has some advantage with the kind of playing XI he has.
Kohli is fabulous but Morgan guided by video analyst
“Morgan’s point of view, I’m not sure because he doesn’t captain, so it’s the video analyst that captains the side. He only just looks at the video analyst, so I don’t know whether he’s the captain on the field or (if the) captaincy is happening off the field," Gambhir told ESPNcricinfo.
“Virat has been fabulous. Honestly, I have not enjoyed a lot of his captaincy, but this time around, he’s been very, very good. Probably the reason is that he thinks this is his last time as captain in IPL, (so) he wants to enjoy it more; he’s just more relaxed. And he’s got the bowlers this time," Gambhir added.
Dhoni is still the number 1, Pant got a good starting XI
Gambhir said, “Virat has been fabulous. Honestly, I have not enjoyed a lot of his captaincy, but this time around, he’s been very, very good. Probably the reason is that he thinks this is his last time as captain in IPL, (so) he wants to enjoy it more; he’s just more relaxed. And he’s got the bowlers this time.”
Story of the top four
CSK under the leadership of veteran captain MS Dhoni were the first side to qualify for the play-offs. CSK in their 14 matches bagged 18 points with nine wins and five losses. The team was able to finish second after three straight losses in the league stage as they were ahead of RCB as their net run-rate was 0.455. The second team which sealed their birth in the play-off was DC. Pant-led side finished at the top of the table with 20 points in their bag. They won 10 games and lost 4. The third team which cemented themselves in the playoffs was RCB. Kohli’s side made an impressive comeback in this leg and secured 18 points with nine wins and five losses. They missed the second spot by a whisker due to inferior NRR. KKR secured the fourth spot with a massive win in their last league game. They made a superb comeback in the second leg of the IPL and ended with 14 points on the table with seven wins and seven losses with a better NRR than Mumbai Indians.
