IPL 2022 First-Time Captains Report Card: How Jadeja of CSK, Mayank of PBKS, Faf of RCB, Hardik of GT performed

Mumbai, April 13: The IPL 2022 is nearing its halfway stage and we have seen some really unexpected performances and some along the expected lines. But a lot of focus is there on four players, who are captaining a team in the IPL for the first time.

Here we are presenting a report card of those 4 cricketers as to how they have handled the pressures of captaincy and merged it with responsibility of being the primary player too.

1 Ravindra Jadeja (Chennai Super Kings)

The CSK are defending champions and appointed Jadeja as captain a few hours before the IPL 2022 began. While it was made public late, the move to appoint the all-rounder as captain might have been on in the green room for some time. But he looked every bit awed at the responsibility and is still learning the ropes as captain.

Often, you would see Jadeja manning the outfield and MS Dhoni, his predecessor, setting the close in field or the angles. Shadow Captaincy if you may, and we have seen that in the initial part of Virat Kohli’s India captaincy some years back. The CSK have lost first four matches of the IPL 2022 but managed a win against Royal Challengers Bangalore to get that two points.

Jadeja cannot be faulted altogether for CSK’s slow beginning as he inherited a team full of veterans and some newcomers who are adapting to the Chennai’s ways of cricket. Hopefully, he will learn soon and make a comeback and we have to be a bit generous to him.

Report Card: 5/10.

2. Faf du Plessis (Royal Challengers Bangalore)

The former South African captain has enough experience in leading a team in international cricket and in franchise model but this is his first stint as captain in the IPL. But Faf took up a rather double-edged sword as RCB captain. The Challengers have never won the IPL despite often termed as favourites or filling their line-up with top stars. So, there has been a huge focus on the RCB on every IPL and often their failure has been brutally trolled in the social media.

Faf took over from Virat Kohli, the RCB captain between 2013 and 2021, and the South African has made an immediate impression as a collected leader. He has been making runs with the bat and has not been reticent to seek co-operation of Kohli and Dinesh Karthik, two ex-IPL captains on his side, when it was needed. They are 5th in the table right now with 6 points and stand a good chance to make more headway in IPL 2022.

Report Card: 7/10

3 Hardik Pandya (Gujarat Titans)

It came as a bit of surprise when the new team Titans announced Hardik as their captain. Of course, Hardik is from Gujarat and it will give them a certain bit of local connect too but the all-rounder does not have any considerable experience of captaining at any level. Additionally, there was a question mark over his fitness. But Hardik surprised everyone with a rather mature outlook and approach on the field during the IPL 2022.

They are now 4th on the table with 6 wins and Hardik has showed some good sense in handling the resources available to him. He has tried to lead the way in batting while batting at No 4 and has also been able to chip in with a few overs and at times cranking up the pace around 140 kmph mark. His outburst against Mohammed Shami might not have been received well by many but he will learn to express himself more maturely soon. But so far his stint has been good.

Report Card: 7/10.

4 Mayank Agarwal (Punjab Kings)

Once the Kings retained Mayank Agarwal along with Arshdeep Singh, it was clear that the Karnataka opener will be considered for the lead role. The Punjab outfit has assembled a good squad and they need some strong moves from Mayank. He has also showed a compassionate side after Odean Smith was hammered by Rahul Tewatia of Gujarat Titans for two successive sixes to snatch the match away from them. Mayank was quick to put an arm around him and pacify the shattered West Indian.

It was a good gesture from a leader. But his batting form has dipped quite alarmingly, 42 runs from 4 matches, 32 came in a single innings, at an average of 10.50 with a strike rate 105. Has the captaincy affected his batting? Should Shikhar Dhawan, a player with the experience of leading both Sunrisers Hyderabad and Delhi Capitals, be handed over the captaincy and allow Mayank to concentre on his batting?

It might just be a tad early but there will have to be a talk on that. The Kings are now 7th on the table with 4 points and they need a move on and for that need some quick, big runs from the willow of Agarwal. Hopefully, he can merge captaincy with batting.

Report Card: 4.5/10