Former Indian team captain Virat Kohli became the younger captain in IPL history in 2011 after he was handed the arm of Royal Challengers Bangalore. The Indian Premier League has witnessed some great leaders arising from the competition over the times with Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, and Suresh Raina among the most prominent names.
Below is the list of the five immature captains in the Indian Premier League(IPL).
The youngest captain in IPL: Five youngest leaders
| Rank | Player(s) | Age on captaincy debut IPL Team |
| 1 | Virat Kohli | 22 years, 4 months, and 6 days Royal Challengers Bangalore |
| 2 | Steve Smith | 22 years, 11 months, and 9 days Rising Pune Supergiants |
| 3 | Shreyas Iyer | 23 years, 3 months, and 21 days Delhi Capitals |
| 4 | Suresh Raina | 23 years, 3 months, and 22 days Chennai Super Kings |
| 5 | Rishabh Pant | 23 years, a half year and 6 days Delhi Capitals |
1. Virat Kohli
Kohli always had the leadership but in the presence of warhorses like Anil Kumble, Kevin Petersen, and Rahul Dravid the youth were not in the reckoning in the original numerous times.
Still, it changed in 2011 when the skipper Daniel Vettori was injured for a down institution against Rajasthan Royals and Kohli was asked to lead the side 22 times in 4 months and 6 days.
RCB had won Kohli’s first match as an IPL captain by 9 structures with Chris Gayle running the show while Kohli remained unbeaten at 39 on the other hand. Virat Kohli had led RCB in three matches in IPL 2011, winning twice and losing one in the process.
It took another two times before Royal Challengers Bangalore made Kohli their endless captain. Kohli captained RCB in 140 matches with a win chance of 48.16.
2. Steve Smith was the youthful foreign IPL
Captain Steve Smith’s entry into the Indian Premier League was a long time pending. He was first roped in New Zealand hard- mega hitter Jesse Ryder’s relief in 2010 by RCB and also as a back-over option by Kochi Tuskers Kerala the ensuing time, but he could not make numerous appearances during this period. After going unsold in the IPL 2012 transaction, Smith was roped in by Pune Worriers India as Mitchel Marsh ‘s relief and his fortune changed.
After the league crusade went south for the new ballot, captain Sourav Ganguly decided to bench himself and Steve Smith was chosen as the new commander owing to his brilliant overall form. Pune Warriors did not win that match either but Smith had gone on to come one the youthful captains in IPL history. The Australian star would latterly go on to come to the full-time captain of Rajasthan Royals following an emotional stint with Rising Pune Warriors with MS Dhoni playing under him.
Under trainer Ricky Ponting, Smith was the captain of Delhi Capitals, formerly known as Delhi Daredevils, as well. Smith
3. Shreyas Iyer was handed the task of captaining DC at 23.
The current Kolkata Knight Riders captain Shreyas Iyer had first gotten a taste of captaincy while playing for Delhi Capitals during IPL 2018. when Gautam Gambhir had decided to bench himself owing to poor form. Iyer was captain 23 times, 3 months and 21 days also, and paved his part for the future with an unbeaten 93 in that game.
The coming season saw Iyer flaunting great leadership chops to lead Delhi to the playoffs for the first time in seven times. Iyer improved the record by captivating Delhi to the final in the IPL 2020 season before losing to Mumbai Indians.
Still, what sounded like a dream find for Delhi soon turned into ashes after Iyer was out with a shoulder injury during England’s stint with India in 2021. Delhi had to replace Iyer with Rishabh Pant as their new captain in IPL 2021 and stuck to the enigmatic Wicket- keeper indeed after Iyer had returned from injury. Iyer comes to KKR at the reverse of a 53.65 winning chance on his capsule, where he led Delhi to one play-off and a final.
4. 23 old Suresh Raina had captained CSK in Dhoni’s absence
Popularly known as China Thala among CSK fans, Suresh Raina had been MS Dhoni’s deputy since 2010 and was always coming in line to lead the IPL side. During the season, Dhoni could not make it to a down institution against Delhi Devils and Raina was handed the captaincy part. The southpaw did not let the change in canon affect the platoon’s instigation and went on to score 49 runs to help CSK chase a target of 186.
Raina would latterly come as the captain of Gujarat Lions when Chennai Super Lords and Rajasthan Royals were suspended for two seasons. The left-handed top-order batsman would go on to lead the Gujarat Titans to the playoffs by finishing at the top of the points table, before losing to eventual winners Sunrisers Hyderabad in the alternate qualifier.
Suresh Raina has captained 34 IPL matches with a winning rate of 44.11.
5. Rishabh Pant came to the fifth- youthful captain in IPL in 2021
With an injured Shreyas Iyer witnessing surgery and out for months, Delhi centrals operation had to take a call presto, and Pant’s heroics in the Border- Gavaskar jewel had made him an establishment favorite. The wicketkeeper-batsman did not fail moreover Ricky Ponting’s think tank furnished the perfect balance to the youthful leader’s agility.
After a shaky launch to their crusade where Delhi could win just three of the first six matches, the platoon gained instigation. They went on to win six of their coming 10 matches, which also included a four-match winning band, to reach the play-off stages.
Still, Pant’s debut captaincy season ended, as KKR defeated Delhi in the alternate eliminator to reach the final.
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