IPL 2022: How Shreyas Iyer, Hardik Pandya and other new captains have fared so far this season – Firstcricket News, Firstpost

The Indian Premier League (IPL) saw the inclusion of two new franchises, Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Gujarat Titans (GT), in the 2022 edition.

Along with the inclusion of the two new sides, a number of teams have also made changes in terms of leadership this season.

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) handed the captaincy to Shreyas Iyer after roping him into the team earlier this year. Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), on the other side,  gave the baton to Faf du Plessis after Virat Kohli had stepped down from the post after the conclusion of IPL 2021.

IPL’s second-most successful side Chennai Super Kings (CSK) also made a tweak in the captaincy position and named Ravindra Jadeja as the new skipper.

India batter Mayank Agarwal donned the captain’s hat for his franchise Punjab Kings (PBKS) after KL Rahul left the side and joined Lucknow as their captain.

All-rounder Hardik Pandya, who had been an integral part of the Mumbai Indians setup earlier, was roped in by Gujarat Titans (GT) as the captain.

We now take a look at how the new captains have fared so far in the competition:

Hardik Pandya

The Gujarat captain has had a decent run in the tournament so far as he has been scoring some runs for the side consistently while also chipping in with four overs of bowling in the fixtures.

In the four matches that he has played so far, Pandya has scored 141 runs at an average of 47. In fact, the right-hander notched up a fifty in his last game against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and also returned with figures of 1/27.

Hardik Pandya had been roped in by Gujarat Titans from Mumbai Indians this season. Image: Sportzpics

His efforts though, went in vain as SRH eventually won the match by 8 wickets, chasing down a target of 163 runs with five balls to spare.

Pandya has looked pretty steady while batting, as was evident during an Umran Malik over in which the right-handed batter showed composure despite being hit on the helmet, smashing a four off each of the next two deliveries.

The first one went through the covers while the next one was put through the midwicket region.

Shreyas Iyer

KKR captain Shreyas Iyer hasn’t really had a great run in the competition barring the game against his former franchise Delhi Capitals at Brabourne Stadium.

Iyer registered scores of 20 not out, 13, 26, 10 in the first four matches before notching up his first fifty of the season with a knock of 54 against Delhi to take his run tally to 123.

But Iyer’s half-century couldn’t really help his side as KKR were bowled out for 171 while chasing a mammoth target of 216.

KKR captain Shreyas Iyer brought up his first half-century of IPL 2022 with a 54 against former franchise DC. Sportzpics

The right-hander has faced issues against the spinners as he has been dismissed thrice out in four outings by them.

While Kuldeep Yadav got him out stumped on a delivery moving away, Punjab Kings’ Rahul Chahar removed Iyer after he went for a slog sweep on a tossed up delivery but only managed to top edge it and get caught at midwicket by Kagiso Rabada.

RCB’s Wanindu Hasaranga bowled a full leg break to Iyer and the batter struck that flat down the ground straight to Faf du Plessis at long on.

The KKR captain’s attempt to accelerate against the spinners hasn’t really been working for him.

KL Rahul

In the five matches that KL Rahul has played, the right-handed batter has scored 132 runs at an average of just over 26. While he has a half-century and a 40 in this edition so far, Rahul has scored a couple of ducks as well.

Rahul has been one of those captains in the past who has been among runs in the competition while leading a side and but that hasn’t been the case in the ongoing edition.

The Lucknow Super Giants would want him to go all guns blazing in the upcoming fixtures.

Faf du Plessis

Faf du Plessis had a good time with the bat during the 2021 edition while he was at CSK. The right-hander had then amassed a total of 633 runs in 16 matches.

The fans thought that he began the 2022 season from where he left off after an aggressive 88 against the Punjab Kings but he has certainly failed to carry that form over to the next fixtures.

File image of Faf du Plessis: Sportzpics

The right-handed batter has so far managed to score 138 runs at an average of 34.50 in 4 matches. After the first encounter, du Plessis hasn’t really been able the time the ball well.

While the fast bowlers has deceived him with pace, Faf hasn’t been able to find the middle of the bat against the spinners either. He has been out caught in all the four matches.

Mayank Agarwal

Punjab Kings skipper Mayank Agarwal has had a miserable run so far with the bat in the competition. Agarwal has only scored 42 runs in four matches with 32 being his top score.

Agarwal’s batting at the moment has more than one issue. While he has been miscuing his shots completely, the right-hander is facing troubles against good length and short deliveries as well.

He hasn’t been able to control his strokes and that’s why has been out caught thrice out in four games.

Ravindra Jadeja

India and Chennai Super Kings all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has struggled with both bat and ball in this season.

In the four matches that he has played for the Super Kings, the newly-appointed captain has only scored 66 runs at an average of 22 and has only picked one wicket.

Jadeja has been a vital cog in the wheel for CSK but his failure with both bat and ball has created some workload for the team management and find a perfect balance.

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