The pressure to deliver in the Indian Premier League (IPL) is immense. The captain is at the helm of things picking players from a big pool of numbers, not just the 15 or 16 in the squad on the international stage. In addition, franchises are often ruthless in their approach, not hesitant to ask a captain to step down if the results don't flow in their favour. Not just after a season's performance, captains have often stepped down from the leadership role midway through the season.
Ahead of the 18th edition of IPL, here is a look at IPL captains who relinquished the role during the season –
Daniel Vettori (2012)
New Zealand's left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori led the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) to the IPL 2011 final where they lost to Chennai Super Kings. In the next season, Vettori left captaincy due to his diminishing returns with the ball. RCB named Virat Kohli as their new captain. Under Kohli's captaincy, RCB finished fifth on the points table and could not qualify for the playoffs. Vettori is currently head coach of Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).
Kumar Sangakkara (2012)
In 2012, Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara led the now-defunct Deccan Chargers. After Deccan Chargers lost five games on the trot and one match was abandoned due to rain, Sangakkara dropped himself from the playing XI as well. Cameron White replaced him as captain for the season. They managed to win four games and finished eighth on the points table. Deccan Chargers franchise was terminated by the IPL governing council over financial issues. Sangakkara is currently Director of Cricket at Rajasthan Royals (RR).
Ricky Ponting (2013)
Australia's Ricky Ponting is considered one of the greatest captains of all time but he struggled with the bat in the 2013 edition. After six matches where he could not score big, Ponting had to give up Mumbai Indians' captaincy. Rohit Sharma was named captain and MI ended up winning their first-ever IPL title. After seven years with Delhi Capitals (DC), Ponting is currently at Punjab Kings (PBKS) as their head coach.
Angelo Matthews (2013)
The now-defunct Pune Warriors India managed to win just one out of their first games in IPL 2013. Sri Lanka's Angelo Mathews was leading the side and decided to step down from the role. Australia’s Aaron Finch was named the new captain but it did not change their fortunes. Pune Warriors India finished at the bottom of the table with four wins from 16 games. The franchise was terminated by the boarf over financial issues.
Shikhar Dhawan (2014)
The Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan was named Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) captain for IPL 2014. SRH lost two out of their first four games which didn't trigger any alarm bells but Dhawan was struggling with the bat. As a result, he gave up captaincy to focus on his batting. West Indies' Darren Sammy was named the new skipper. Under Sammy's leadership, SRH won six out of 14 games and finished sixth on the points table. Dhawan retired from IPL after the 2024 edition.
Shane Watson (2015)
Under Shane Watson's captaincy, Rajasthan Royals were not struggling. They had six wins from 10 games including two that were abandoned whereas one ended in a tie. But Watson was not able to focus on his skills as the captaincy affected his workload. Steve Smith was named RR's captain. They managed to qualify for playoffs but failed to advance to the final.
Gautam Gambhir (2018)
Gautam Gambhir is the third-most successful captain in IPL history. He led Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to two IPL titles. In 2018, he returned to his home franchise Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals). He was made captain but the franchise's fortunes didn't change. With just one win out of the first six games, Gambhir stepped down as captain. Shreyas Iyer was named the new captain who could not take them to playoffs in 2018 but under his leadership, the team put on a good show. In 2020, Iyer led Delhi to their first-ever IPL final. Gambhir's last IPL stint was with KKR as their mentor. Iyer led them to their third IPL title win.
Dinesh Karthik (2020)
Dinesh Karthik was appointed as KKR's captain in the 2018 edition. In the 2020 season, KKR won four of their first seven games but Karthik underperformed with the bat. After he stepped down from the role, England's ODI World Cup-winning captain Eoin Morgan donned the captaincy hat. KKR finished fifth on the points table and failed to qualify for playoffs. Morgan led KKR to the final in the next season where they lost to CSK. Karthik is currently appointed as RCB's mentor and batting coach.
Ravindra Jadeja (2022)
Before IPL 2022, MS Dhoni handed over the captaincy of Chennai Super Kings to Ravindra Jadeja. However, after only eight matches as captain, Jadeja stepped down as captain amidst CSK's poor run under his leadership. The franchise said that Jadeja took the decision in order to focus on his performance. Under him, the franchise lost six out of eight games. CSK finished ninth on the points table as they won two more games in the rest of the season. In IPL 2023, Dhoni continued to captain and led them to their fifth title. Dhoni handed over the captaincy to Ruturaj Gaikwad who is still leading the team. Also, Jadeja is the only captain on the list who is still playing in the IPL.