The Indian Premier League (IPL) is played on the cricket field and after every edition, the performances of the franchises are being analysed. Nearly two months of action keeps the audience at the edge of their seasons. However, the IPL is far more from only proceedings on the pitches.

The franchise owners also have to tear their hair apart and make some extremely bold decisions. Many of those moves are related to some of the biggest names doing the rounds in world cricket.

The tactics are like gambles, which have every chance of getting boomeranged. It would have taken a lot of guts from the teams to stick to their decisions in-spite of the odds against them. But, a few of them worked wonders and the franchises would be grateful to their decision-making move.

In the article, let’s take five bold decisions made by IPL franchises: –

1. KKR axing Sourav Ganguly

There were loads of expectations from Sourav Ganguly when he was picked to play for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). But he didn’t find the going easy as the Men in Gold and Purple couldn’t make the top four even once during his stay with the team.

In 2010, he notched 493 runs with four half-centuries. But then Ganguly’s strike-rate of 117.66 didn’t help the team in the fielding restrictions. Reportedly, KKR wasn’t happy with Dada from the second season itself.

In 2011, after three indifferent seasons, the Knights decided to revamp their squad, roping in Gautam Gambhir as their skipper. Moreover, they also released Ganguly of his services and he moved to the Pune Warriors as Ashish Nehra’s replacement. After 2012, the elegant left-hander hung his boots from the IPL.

2. SRH letting go Shakib Al Hasan

Shakib Al Hasan was with the Knights in the first seven seasons of his IPL. However, he didn’t feature regularly in the team, though he shone in the limited chances he got. In 2018, KKR let him go and the Sunrisers Hyderabad secured his services. In that year, he played his highest number of matches (17) in a single IPL edition.

But then in 2019, Afghanistan’s Mohammad Nabi was preferred ahead of him. Shakib played only three games in that year. Then in October, the ICC slapped him with a suspension that barred him from playing in the 2020 edition.

The Magura-born failed to report three corrupt approaches before he was punished. Shakib can only make a comeback after October 2020 and bearing in mind the same, the Sunrisers might have thought of releasing the 33-year-old veteran.

3. RPS removing MS Dhoni as skipper

MS Dhoni plied his trade for the Rising Pune Supergiant in the 2016 and 2017 editions of the IPL. It wasn’t a surprise that he was made the captain right away. But he didn’t have a great outing to start with as Pune finished seventh in 2016, though he scored 284 runs at an average of 40.57.

Then in 2017, Dhoni had to face the axe as the skipper and Australia’s Steve Smith was given the mantle. Sanjeev Goenka, the RPS owner, updated about the same. The decision came a day before the players’ auction in Bengaluru.

It remains to be the only year in his career when he didn’t lead an IPL team. The decision didn’t backfire as Smith captained the team to the final against Mumbai Indians where Pune missed out agonisingly. In 2018, Dhoni went back to the Chennai Super Kings (CSK).

4. Deccan Chargers leaving out Rohit Sharma, Adam Gilchrist

In 2011, the Deccan Chargers took the massive calls of letting go Adam Gilchrist and Rohit Sharma. Both were integral parts of the IPL franchise since the inaugural edition. Even as the Aussie wicket-keeper moved to the Kings XI Punjab, Rohit went to the Mumbai-based franchise.

MI bagged Rohit for two million and he is currently the most successful skipper in the tournament with four titles. Rohit replaced Ricky Ponting as the captain in Mumbai and the move turned out to be a historic one.

Gilly, on the other hand, retired from the IPL after 2013. After leaving the Chargers, Gilchrist also accused an official for badmouthing him. The veteran refrained from naming the person though. In DC, the left-hander played 46 matches where he scored 1,220 runs with seven half-centuries.

5. RCB persisting with skipper Virat Kohli despite repeated failures    

Virat Kohli has been with the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) ever since the first season in 2008. The Indian skipper has grown in stature and has carved his name among the greats of the games due to his consistency. In 2013, the Delhi-born replaced Daniel Vettori as the captain of the Challengers.

However, it hasn’t been able to change RCB’s fortunes as of now and their travails have continued. Albeit he has flourished big time with the bat, his captaincy credentials have come under the scanner plenty of times.

Despite his repeated failures, RCB has continued to persist with him as the captain. The Challengers is one of the teams, who are yet to get their hands on the coveted trophy. It remains to be seen whether or not Kohli is able to defy the odds and change RCB’s luck.