CHENNAI: When the Indian Premier League (IPL) made a big splash in the nation's consciousness in the Summer of 2008, one of the themes was readily identifiable. Established Indian 'icons' captaining teams (the first match saw Rahul Dravid and Saurav Ganguly walking out for the toss). Elsewhere, Sachin Tendulkar (Mumbai Indians), VVS Laxman (Deccan Chargers) and Virender Sehwag (Delhi Daredevils) were not just established India internationals but they commanded a kind of heft in the global game. You could kind of argue they had kind of become defacto captains because of their seniority and standing in the game.
With the league becoming an adult in 2025, one of the biggest changes to have taken place is the identity of the Indian captains. Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin and Suryakumar Yadav were or are legit captaincy material but team managements have gone for left-field choices, players who don't necessarily scream leadership material, at least from the outside looking in.
Mumbai Indians wrote the rules of engagement when they appointed a relative greenhorn in Sharma post the short-lived Rickey Ponting era. But, for a long time, Sharma and Kohli's ascents were an outlier, a dot on the edge of the captains graph. These days? The trend started by Mumbai with Sharma is the norm. Sanju Samson was a similar outlier when he was promoted by Rajasthan Royals in 2021. KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer have enjoyed similar promotions in other franchises. In 2025, it's the turn of Rajat Patidar and Axar Patel.
In the past, it would be unthinkable for captains in the national set-up to not carry on those duties for their franchises. These days? Not so much. In fact, a majority of the regular captains in the league this year do not even have a guaranteed spot in the national set-up. Again a departure from days gone by.
Some of it has to do with working with a captain more malleable to the needs of the team. With T20 becoming more and more a game where coaches play an important role, the captain has to, at some level, be an expert man manager, someone capable of asking you to go to hell in such a way you are actually looking forward to the trip. Some of it is also down to be able to build a team in the image of a leader for the foreseeable future. With the likes of Kohli, Rohit and Jadeja in the winter of their careers, franchises have realised the need to identify future leaders. The captains are also no longer seen as public faces (Patel and Patidar, for example, don't have to endorse hair care products, that was a relic of the past).
All of these factors have played big roles in the changing nature of how IPL teams go about picking leaders. Apart from Kolkata, all captains will likely stay with their franchises even when the next mega auction comes around; at least that would be the hope for the teams. It's basically what Rajasthan ended up doing with Samson. Now, the team is more or less shaped in his own image.
"The way you have grown in this franchise and the way you have performed, you have really made a place in the hearts of all of the fans of RCB all over India and they get really excited to watch you play," Kohli said in an RCB video message. "The way he has led his state team as well and the responsibility that he's taken and has shown everyone that he has what it takes to lead this amazing franchise..."
At 31, Patidar is just about approaching his peak and he knows the team pretty well. Knowing the team and the support staff pretty well is also an important aspect of getting the gig.
Iyer may have never played for Punjab but his association with Ponting is well known. Patel's association with Delhi began pre-pandemic. Patidar walked into Bengaluru's home dugout three seasons ago. Samson was with Rajasthan as a teen before he moved away. Shorlty after he came back, he was made captain by the owners. Gaikwad spent a few years shadowing MS Dhoni at Chennai. Pandya and Mumbai go back a long way. The only team that was left hamstrung in terms of a captain was Kolkata but they also went with somebody who has led previously in Rahane.
There's now definitely a science behind appointing a captain rather than giving the job to the most senior (or the one with the most associated brand value) man in the room. "He has been an integral part of the Capitals family since 2019," said chairman Kiran Gandhi. "This reflects the natural progression for him as a leader -- from being our vice-captain for two seasons to now leading the team, he has always stepped up to the occasion for us."
In 2008, when Ganguly and Dravid walked out to the toss, the broadcaster plastered their faces all over the branding for the initial game. They were recognisable faces, superstars and legends in their own right. Having them front and centre was also important to the franchises because they were the ones who pulled in the sponsorship deals.
In 2025, the broadcaster has moved away from the template of using the captains' mugshots for branding. As far as they are concerned, it's going to be a match between Shah Rukh Khan (or 'Badshah') and Kohli (or 'King').
The franchises won't care, though. They have all come of age.
Indian captains
Rishabh Pant - Lucknow Super Giants
Ruturaj Gaikwad - Chennai Super Kings
Rajat Patidar - Royal Challengers Bengaluru
Shubman Gill - Gujarat Titans
Shreyas Iyer - Punjab Kings
Axar Patel - Delhi Capitals
Sanju Samson - Rajasthan Royals
Ajinkya Rahane - Kolkata Knight Riders
Hardik Pandya - Mumbai Indians