Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar stated that it will benefit Team Rajkot in the next two seasons of the Indian Premier League (IPL), if they have an Indian captain at the helm of the team.
In that way, he will be aware of the conditions and will also be knowing local players as well.
Team Rajkot picked up Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, James Faulkner, Brendon McCullum and Dwayne Bravo in the IPL player draft in Mumbai on Monday.
One would automatically be biased towards McCullum in leading the charge as he has done wonders for his national side and he is aware of the Indian conditions as well. McCullum has played in a number of franchises ever since the inception of the IPL. McCullum and Jadeja also used to play for the now-scrapped IPL team Kochi Tuskers. But Raina is most likely to handle the duties of the captaincy for Team Rajkot.
"In IPL it makes sense that team has an Indian captain. He knows local players, knows the weaknesses and strengths of local players. And you need an Indian coach if you make Brendon McCullum the captain," Sunil Gavaskar was quoted as saying by NDTV.
Gavaskar also felt that Team Pune will have their noses ahead slightly in the next two seasons of the IPL as they have the captain cool MS Dhoni in their side. It is almost certain that Dhoni will be donning the hat of the captain yet again for his new franchise. The little master stated that it is always awesome to have someone like Dhoni in the team, which adds extra pressure on the opponents.
"Any team that has MS will start as favourite. The kind of cricket he plays, he can turn the match on its head. Then Pune has Ashwin, who is in incredible form and Faf du Plessis. Balance in any team is crucial. Pune I think is a little stronger than Rajkot," Gavaskar added.
"It's triple delight. He [Dhoni] is a player, captain and a brand. Any new franchise needs someone like MSD. He is the biggest brand in Indian sports. He brings that leadership quality on the table. Pune has done the right thing by picking him. "
