IPL: Top 5 captains who were released by their franchises

In the IPL, it’s witnessed that some franchises did exceptionally in the tournament under the leadership of their astute captains. Mumbai Indians (MI) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) won five titles apiece, under their skippers Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni respectively. 

Similarly, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), who won their maiden title in 2012, were led from the front by Gautam Gambhir. In 2016, when Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) won their first and only trophy, David Warner looked stunning in the captaincy and batting roles.

MS Dhoni, who has guided CSK to five title victories, enjoys the immense trust of his franchise owners. After 16 editions of the league, he is the only player the franchise has retained every season. On one side, Dhoni’s leadership skills made him the most trusted confidante of CSK while there have also been some players in the history of the league who couldn’t be at their best as captains and ended up getting dumped. Talking more, let’s know five skippers who got dropped from the teams before auctions due to their poor captaincy performances.

Here are five IPL captains who didn’t get retained:

5. Steve Smith (2021)

IPL (Photo Source: Twitter)

Steve Smith joined Rajasthan Royals (RR) in 2014 and became a vital part of the team due to his batting in the middle order. In 2015, the franchise appointed the Aussie their captain, and under his guidance, the team played aggressive cricket and ended their journey in the playoffs. 

In 2019, he was seen in RR’s jersey after four years but he failed to make his comeback in the side grand with his ordinary performance. As a batter, he could accumulate only 319 runs in 12 matches at a strike rate of 116.00. Noting Ajinkya Rahane’s ineffective captaincy, the franchise appointed Smith as a captain in the mid-season but he also didn’t succeed in controlling the damage as the team concluded the season in the round-robin stage.

Despite noting his dismal performance, RR retained Smith for the 2020 season. However, the star player looked unimpressive again, scoring only 311 runs in 14 matches at a strike rate of 131.22. As a captain, he also failed to take Royals to the playoffs as well. Witnessing his back-to-back failures, RR parted ways with him before the 2021 season. 

4. Mahela Jayawardene (2014)

Mahela Jayawardene (Source: IPL)

Sri Lanka legend Mahela Jayawardene was a renowned personality in IPL from 2008 to 2013. In his six-year career, he served Punjab Kings (PBKS), the defunct Kochi Tuskers Kerala (KTK), and Delhi Capitals (DC). In 2013, Capitals believed in the Sri Lanka veteran’s vast experience and handed him the reins of the team for the season.

Under his leadership, Delhi looked completely out of colour and ended up at the bottom of the points table, with only three wins and 13 losses. Jayawardene also put up a disappointing show with his bat, scoring only 331 runs in 15 matches at a strike rate of 105.75. His underwhelming performance shattered DC’s trust and the franchise didn’t hesitate to release him before the 2014 auction.

3. Kane Williamson (2022)

Sunrisers Hyderabad’s Kane Williamson in action. (Photo by Surjeet Yadav/IANS)

Kane Williamson was handed the reins of Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the mid-2021 season after David Warner’s flop show. In 2022, Williamson’s responsibility was to raise the confidence of the demoralised team and help it follow the coveted trophy with ardour. However, the New Zealand stalwart had a dry run with form in the competition, scoring only 216 runs in 13 games at a low average of 19.64.

The veteran won only six games off 14 contests as a captain which denied SRH the playoff spot for two consecutive seasons. Following the Kiwi player’s unsuccessful season, the franchise released him before the 2023 auction held in December 2022 in Kochi. 

2. Sourav Ganguly (2011)

Sourav Ganguly. (Photo Source: Twitter)

Sourav Ganguly was a part of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) from 2008 to 2010 in IPL. In his three-year association with the franchise, he was the captain of the side in the 2008 and 2010 editions. In both installments of the tournament, Knight Riders ended up in the sixth spot on the points table and failed to qualify for the knockouts.

In the 2010 season, he scored 493 runs in 14 matches at a strike rate of 117.66 and ended up as the fourth-leading run-getter in the competition. However, the KKR team management ignored the veteran’s batting numbers and decided to go ahead in 2011 without him.     

1. David Warner in 2022

David Warner (Photo Source: Twitter)

David Warner is one of the illustrious names in IPL. The Aussie legend is the third-leading run-scorer in the cash-rich league, notching up 6397 runs with four tons and 61 fifties.  His best season came in the 2016 edition when he ended up as the second-leading run-scorer. Leading SRH from the front, he smashed 848 runs in 17 games at a strike rate of 151.42.

Riding on his sensational performance, Sunrisers succeeded in lifting the coveted trophy for the first time. After five years of the title win, the relationship between the Aussie southpaw and the SRH team management took an ugly turn. The veteran’s disastrous batting numbers and ineffective leadership in the 2021 season became the reason for the fallout.

Amidst the competition, SRH dropped its title-winning skipper from the playing XI. Sunrisers concluded the season at the bottom of the points table with three wins and 11 losses while Warner ended the tournament on a disappointing note. Appearing in eight matches, he could pile up only 195 runs. Following the spat, Sunrisers and Warner were expected to break the ties with each other and that happened ahead of the 2022 auction.