In a shocking development for IPL side Delhi Daredevils, their skipper Gautam Gambhir decided to step down as the leader of the team after a string of poor performances from his side has virtually knocked them out of the semis race. Gambhir, who is a two-time winner of the tournament with Kolkata Knight Riders had recently been snapped up by the Delhi Daredevils franchise for a specific leadership role in addition to his batting exploits. But neither his bat nor his captainship seemed to have been working as his team has lost five out of the six matches they have played. Languishing at the bottom of the table, Gautam Gambhir informed the press that the decision to step down was absolutely his and lack of contribution from him to the cause of the team led to it.

Youngster Shreyas Iyer will now lead the Delhi Daredevils in the remaining matches of the Indian Premier League 2018 and considering the current scenario of the team, the decision of the management to go in with a relatively inexperienced player is baffling. This is not the first case of skipper departing in the middle of the tournament to make way for others. Let us have a quick look at some of these instances.

MS Dhoni: India’s Tour of Australia 2014-15

MS Dhoni shocked an entire nation when he quit test cricket after the third test versus Australia in Melbourne. Dhoni who had missed the first test in Adelaide and saw Virat Kohli do well in his absence despite a loss came back to the side for the second and third test only to see his side trail 2-0 to the hosts. A rough patch with the bat and some dismal showing away from home under his leadership had contributed immensely to Dhoni’s decision.

Virat Kohli thus assumed his role as the captain of the test team and has since taken India to new heights. It was not as if MS Dhoni struggled with his keeping as during his last test for his country he affected nine dismissals and also went past Kumar Sangakkara’s record of 134 stumpings in all three formats of the game combined. The decision was heavily dependent on the form of his side rather than personal performance.

Ricky Ponting: Mumbai Indians IPL 2013

Ricky Ponting was made the captain of Mumbai Indians before the start of IPL 2013 and all eyes were on the Australian great to turn on his magic for the team. But a string of poor scores with the bat meant Ponting was under huge pressure. In order to accommodate pacer Mitchell Johnson in the side, Ponting decided to sit out of the remaining matches of the IPL and pass on the leadership role to a young Rohit Sharma. Rohit grabbed this opportunity with both hands helping his side to their maiden title where they decimated the Chennai Super Kings in the finals in Eden Gardens. This was followed by Champions League T20 title and till date, he remains the only skipper to have won three IPL trophies.

Steve Smith: Australia tour of South Africa 2018

Australia’s tour of South Africa started on a very bright note for Steve Smith as he marshaled his troop to a 118 run win the first test against home side South Africa in Durban. Well, the win was the last of the happy memories that Steve Smith would have of the South African soil. A defeat in the second test was followed by a scandal in the next one that has done an irreparable damage to Australian cricket.

TV cameras in Cape Town caught Australian batsman Cameron Bancroft tampering the ball with a foreign object and then pretending ignorance when enquired upon by the on-filed umpires. Steve Smith, during the press conference at the end of days play, accepted the fact that he along with David Warner and Cameron Bancroft where involved in the planning and execution of the whole ball tampering incident. Steve Smith was immediately made to stand down as the skipper with Tim Paine taking over the captaincy. He was later banned for a period of one year from all forms of the game by Cricket Australia.

These stories are reminiscent of the fact that being a captain of a side brings with itself its own set of challenges and all is always not rosy as it seems in the press. The captains too after all are humans and are bound to make mistakes and it is the duty of the management to support them to avoid such abrupt and inglorious exits.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 25, 2018 06:44 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).