The IPL is a very competitive tournament where each and every team plays for itself and makes decisions taking into consideration the team’s performance and for the benefit of the team. There have been many decisions that a team has taken in order to turn the odds around. These decisions taken by the teams have many times been proven in both ways, which have either produced phenomenal results for that team or totally hampered the results for that team. There have been a lot of decisions taken over this long course of the IPL.
1. Picking Ms Dhoni As Their Captain
In the inaugural season itself, the Chennai Super Kings were in search of their captain. Dinesh Karthik, as he was from Tamil Nadu, tried extensively to be selected as the wicketkeeper-batsman due to his experience at the international level. The Chennai management did not comply and went to the auction and picked MS Dhoni as they decided he would be the captain of their side, and MS Dhoni went on to be the most expensive player of that auction. This decision caused the Chennai Super Kings to win four IPL trophies and be the most consistent team.
2. Not Releasing Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli was picked by Royal Challengers Bangalore after he won the U19 World Cup as captain. Virat Kohli had a very poor outing in the first season itself, and it felt that his days at the RCB camp were numbered, but the management backed him and carried him onto the other seasons. This decision by the team caused them to produce the only player to play for only one team throughout IPL history. This also gave them the best batsman of his generation and the highest run-getter in the history of the IPL
3. Making Rohit Sharma The Captain
The 2013 season was pretty much unique in its own terms, but perhaps the best one was for the Mumbai Indians. Mumbai had a very bad start to the season, losing five out of their first five matches. In this midst, the captain, Ricky Pointing, left the captaincy and it went to Rohit. This decision gave the Mumbai Indians their fifth IPL trophy, which is the highest for any team in the IPL. Rohit Sharma went on to lead the most successful team in the IPL.
4. Picking Hardik Pandya As Their First Draft And Captain
It was the first season for the Gujarat Titans, who had picked Hardik Pandya as their first draught pick and captain. This decision was heavily criticised by everyone before the beginning of the season. After the season began, this decision eventually turned out to be a miracle, as Hardik Pandya Delivered an excellent season for the Gujarat Titans, both with his performance and his captaincy. This ultimately led the Gujarat Titans to lift the trophy in their very first season.
5. Picking Shane Watson
In their comeback season, the Chennai Super Kings brought in the likes of Shane Watson in order to fill their opening spot. This move was not seen as a long-term delight due to Watson’s poor performance for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in previous years. However, for the Chennai Super Kings, this proved to be a total success, as Shane Watson went on to deliver stunning performances, even scoring a century in the final itself. Handing the Chennai Super Kings their third title.
6. Showing Faith In The Youngsters
In the year 2011, the Royal Challengers Bangalore were rebuilding their entire team and decided to give chances to youngsters in their core team who could go hand in hand with their experienced players. On the lookout for this, they brought in the likes of A.B. DeVilliers and Chris Gayle in order to help their batting problems. This turned out to be their best buy ever, as both of them went on to be IPL and world cricket legends. Both DeVilliers and Gayle went on to win uncountable matches for the Royal Challengers Bangalore. To date, their impact, even after retirement, is unmatchable.
7. Opening With A Spinner
In the 2011 final, even though the Chennai Super Kings had a massive 200+ score on board for the Royal Challengers Bangalore, The batting line-up of RCB was furious, especially Chris Gayle, who was the orange cap holder of the season, and in order to counter that, MS Dhoni brought Ashwin in order to counter, and this resulted in the entire batting with Gayle collapsing to the ground and Chennai lifting the trophy.
8. Buying Glenn Maxwell
Glenn Maxwell was considered a story of the past due to his unsuccessful seasons in some of the previous year’s IPL. It was the Royal Challengers Bangalore who brought Maxwell in for the 2021 season. From there, it has been a totally different way for Glenn Maxwell, due to his contributions to the playoffs successively in the years 2021 and 2022.
9. Buying Strong Bowling Instead Of Batting
In 2016, the Sunrisers Hyderabad changed their strategy and looked for heavy bowlers instead of a heavy batting order. This was a change in decisions, especially for teams such as RCB, who had one of the best batting orders. Hyderabad invested in the likes of Rashid Khan and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. This formidable bowling unit was considered to be one of the best bowling units in the entire IPL. This event proved to be a great strategy when this bowling-heavy side defeated the batting powerhouses of RCB and GL in the qualifier and finals.
10. Picking Yuzvendra Chahal
RCB brought in spin wizard Yuzvendra Chahal. The Mumbai Indians left him, and he was later picked by the RCB. This was a dicey decision, as Bangalore's home ground was known for its batting power pitches. Yuzvendra Chahal’s buying for the RCB proved to be very successful, as they received the wickets in the middle overs that they were looking for, and Chahal went on to become one of the best spinners in the IPL.
