PBKS, RCB captains offer a study in contrast

The impact of a captain in T20 cricket goes beyond wins and losses, as seen in contrasting IPL leadership styles.

For all the data analyses and number-crunching that has filtered into T20 cricket over the years, there continues to be no way to quantify the impact of a captain on a team beyond the obvious metrics of wins and losses and runs and wickets.

That Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru have reached Qualifier 1 of the IPL with vastly contrasting personalities at the helm underlines that there are no set parameters to the job. The different approaches of the two franchises was evident at the auction table itself.

While Punjab was steadfast in pursuing the flamboyant figure of Shreyas Iyer for captaincy and coughed up a whopping ₹26.75 crore, RCB’s decision-makers chose to put their minds to assembling a robust pool of players and back the unassuming Rajat Patidar, already a part of the squad, for the leadership. Following Patidar’s injury, which has led to the middle-order batter being used as an Impact Player in the last two matches, the equally understated Jitesh Sharma has taken up the reins.

Consensus is that Shreyas has played a telling role for his new franchise. Having led Kolkata Knight Riders to the title in 2024, he has now taken an underachieving PBKS to the playoffs for the first time since 2014. “Shreyas has been outstanding,” PBKS coach Ricky Ponting enthused after the team’s win over Mumbai Indians on Monday. “Pretty obvious I was keen to work with Shreyas considering how much I spent at the auction. He’s a quality person. It’s what you need when you need to form a culture.”

The RCB think-tank may not have been as effusive publicly in its praise of Patidar and Jitesh. But they have been no less effective. For Jitesh to step into captaincy unexpectedly at the business end and produce the sort of match-winning knock he did against Lucknow Super Giants is particularly commendable.