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IPL 2021: Skipper back-up from all IPL Team
It has always been a difficult job for any team in any sport to set such a deputy who is as robust as his chief. Indian Premier League (IPL) is a multi-nation competition where the teams seem to be confused also while trying to choose their respective deputies.
Now once again in the upcoming IPL for 2021 edition every franchise team has gathered bunch of high-quality players and must be hoping to fancy their chances to achieve glory finally. But now with cricket being played amidst such a crucial human crisis under COVID-19 pandemic, each team must need a back-up skipper who can continue with the leadership if the respective deputy has to leave for any sensitive reasons. Let us look for IPL 2021: Team-wise back-up skipper.
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Rajasthan Royals – Jos Buttler
Rajasthan Royals has built up a formidable side this season with an aim to go for a voyage with their newly announced skipper Sanju Samson. Even though the team is perfectly balanced on paper at least, the team needs to have a back-up skipper to bolster the team spirit on field. There are a few high profile names in the squad but Jos Buttler can become a good back-up skipper as he has already been doing the duty for England in the limited-over game. The wicket-keeper and batsman has been the deputy of Eoin Morgan and he has captained England also in six match and won four out of it. For a youngster like Sanju Samson, Buttler with his global white-ball experience can become a perfect aid to the skipper.
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Royal Challengers Bangalore – AB de Villiers
AB de Villiers
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) has been under the leadership of Virat Kohli since 2013. But the Indian captain gets often busy with his international engagements. So the franchise team needs a powerful cover for him and in the discussion on IPL 2021: Team-wise back-up skipper AB de Villiers can be an ideal option for the franchise team this season. One of the great batsmen of his time ABD can lead the team from the front just like Virat and he is undoubtedly a sublime entity for South Africa. His key strength in leading a side is his intensity. It has already been discussed by a couple of the specialists that ABD should be made the captain of RCB mainly to reduce pressure on Virat who is also engaged with national team.
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Sunrisers Hyderabad–Kane Williamson
The franchise team has already juggled between the leadership of David Warner and Kane Williamson since 2016. But with no tussle between these two greats both the cricketers can subsequently play the role of deputy and help each other. Kane Williamson is a tried and tested entity both his franchise team and for the national team. In absence of Warner in 2018, Williamson steered SRH to the finals and also played an important role in the 2020 IPL. The duo of fire and ice can be a perfect match inside the leadership of SRH and should be in the list of IPL 2021: Team-wise back-up skipper. Bhuvneshwar Kumar also can be a deputy if any one among Warner and Williamson steps aside from the post.
Delhi Capitals–Ajinkya Rahane
The franchise team can again become a top hit under the young skipper Shreyas Iyer but when the issue of back-up skipper is discussed then the team has some strong Indian contenders like Shikhar Dhawan and Ravichandran Ashwin. But, after watching Ajinkya Rahane’s intelligence and calmness on the field in Australia anyone will be abstained by not having him as the team’s deputy. Rahane has not only showed his potential as a captain in the Test series against Australia, he played an instrumental role also in case of the IPL. In 2018 it was Rahane whose experience and performance guided Rajasthan Royals into the play-offs. Delhi Capitals after their mini-revamp in 2019 has qualified for the play-offs twice and will be expecting similar results once again this season.
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Punjab Kings–Mayank Agarwal
In the last edition of IPL Punjab Kings had steep ups and downs as the team hardly found any success. But in a dramatic turnaround the team, under the leadership of K.L. Rahul played fearless cricket and earned play-off spot.
But talking about the back-up skipper, the team that has already made Glenn Maxwell an exit this year, has Mayank Agarwal in the list. Both Rahul and Mayank re from Karnataka and they have an excellent understanding between them that could help the team move in the League with perfect spirit.
Punjab outfit had last featured in the finals of IPL in 2014. So they must be desperate to regain their pride in the League this year and Rahul-Mayank combination has the capability of bringing the pride back.
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Kolkata Knight Riders – Dinesh Karthik
Although Eoin Morgan has been appointed the skipper of Kolkata Knight Riders, the team has variable options to fix its deputy. But among other senior cricketers like Shakib-al-Hassan, Sunil Narine, Dinesh Karthik can be the fittest as deputy of Morgan. Karthik who stepped down from the responsibility in the middle of IPL 2020, won SMAT recently while leading Tamil Nadu. Even before he quit captaincy of KKR in 2020, the team had won four out of seven matches. The KKR camp is currently well-equipped squad ad is one of the title contenders this season.
Chennai Super Kings – Suresh Raina
MS Dhoni the captain CSK and his deputy Suresh Raina have been the part of the franchise since its inception and both of them has tremendous understanding between them. Even when Dhoni was absent for two years due to the ban of CSK, Suresh Raina captained Gujrat Lions and won 14 matches out of 34 IPL games. So, looking forward to the IPL this year, Dhoni-Raina combination that is popularly known as 'thala' and 'chota-thala' can also bring the old magic back.
Mumbai Indians – Kieron Pollard
Being the most successful franchise team of the League, Mumbai Indians has already two specialist full-time skippers (Quinton De Kock and Kieron Pollar) to choose Rohit Sharma's deputy. Last year prior to the IPL, Pollard had guided his CPL franchise team to win the title and also captained MI in the last phase of the League. Pollard also has been highly effective with his national team and he has excellent leadership quality of inspiring the potential youngsters. So, once again MI that will start in the League as one of the favorites, must depend on Kieron Pollard also.
