Since its introduction in 2008, the IPL has witnessed some of the finest captains like Rohit Sharma, MS Dhoni, and Gautam Gambhir, who have led their side with utmost authority and determination.

There have been moments when captains were criticized for the team’s overall performances, so the franchises had to take a hard call and remove them from the post. In this piece, we discuss five controversial captain removals in the history of the IPL :

1 Sourav Ganguly (Kolkata Knight Riders)

The former India skipper led the team in three seasons (2008, 2009 & 2010) but the former India batter wasn’t successful in his captaincy role. Although his performances were decent during the 2010 season the franchise owners decided not to continue with him as skipper. Former India opener Gautam Gambhir was announced as skipper ahead of the 2011 season.

2 MS Dhoni (Rising Pune Supergiants)

The former India skipper was made captain of a new team in 2016 as Chennai Super Kings was suspended for three seasons from 2016-2018. The former India wicket-keeper batter was removed as captain by Rising Pune Supergiants team owners ahead of the 2017 season replacing him with Australian batter Steve Smith because the team didn’t perform up to the mark under Dhoni’s captaincy.

3 David Warner (Sunrisers Hyderabad)

Sunrisers Hyderabad won its first IPL trophy under the leadership of David Warner in 2016. However, controversies began to take shape between the team management and Warner due to his poor performances with the bat.

The controversy widened after Warner chose to sit in the stands and support the team from there. The Australian left-hander left the team ahead of the 2022 IPL season and joined Delhi Capitals.

4 Rohit Sharma (Mumbai Indians)

Arguably one of the best skippers in the history of IPL, Rohit Sharma won five IPL trophies as skipper of Mumbai Indians. The Mumbai Indians team management and franchise owners replaced Rohit Sharma ahead of the 2024 season with Hardik Pandya for the post of Mumbai Indians skipper due to which the franchise owners were criticized on social media by fans.

5 Rahul Dravid (Royal Challengers Bangalore)

The “Wall” as he was fondly called during his playing career played for Royal Challengers Bangalore from 2008-2010. He captained the franchisee team during the 2008 season but stepped down as skipper in the next season as the team finished 8th in the points table. Former England batter Kevin Pietersen was handed captaincy but after losing four out of five games former India leg spinner Anil Kumble was handed over the captaincy of RCB.