SRH All Captains List: How Many Players Have Captained Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL?

Introduced as Deccan Chargers in the opening season of the Indian Premier League, the Hyderabad-based franchise has been one of the most under-rated setup of the marquee league. The franchise participated as Deccan Chargers during the first five seasons. However, after 2012, the franchise was terminated and it was re-branded as Sunrisers Hyderabad under the new ownership.

Since then, the Surisers have had their ups and downs in the biggest T20 carnival on the planet. They have won two IPL titles (once as Deccan Chargers) and have qualified for the playoffs on six other occasions, including finishing as the runners-up once. In this post, we will talk about every player who has captained the Hyderabad-based franchise, including Deccan Chargers and Sunrisers Hyderabad during the 15 different seasons of the IPL.

In this article, we will take a look at SRH’s all-captains in IPL history:

At first, we will cover the players who have captained Deccan Chargers –

VVS Laxman (2008)

The wristy-Indian batter VVS Laxman was the icon player for Deccan Chargers in the 2008 and he was also appointed as the skipper of the franchise. However, the team endured a difficult start under his captaincy despite having a star-studded squad at their disposal.

The team won only one game out of the first six games and the legendary batter also failed to make any contributions with the bat. Hence, the team decided to sack Laxman as the skipper early in the season.

Adam Gilchrist (2008-2010)

The legendary Aussie wicketkeeper was handed over the team’s captaincy in the 7th match of the first season. However, he also could not do much as the Chargers won only a single game out of 8 under Gilly’s leadership to finish at the bottom of the opening season. However, the team stunned everyone by winning the IPL the very next season in 2009.

Deccan Chargers kept their form going as they finished for the semifinals the next season 2010. However, they failed to defend the title after losing the semifinal. They decide to release Adam Gilchrist ahead of the next season; hence the Aussie left the team after leading the team in 42 IPL matches.

Kumar Sangakkara (2011-2012)

The franchise replaced the outgoing Adam Gilchrist with another legendary wicketkeeper-batter, Kumar Sangakkara. The Sri Lankan great led Deccan Chargers for the next two seasons. In 2011, the team fell massively after winning only 6 league games out of 14 and finished 7th in the points table.

The situation didn’t get better the next season as Deccan Chargers stock went down further as they won only four games out of 15 to finish 8th in 2012. Kumar Sangakkara had a tough run with the franchise as they won only 8 games out of 25 under his captaincy. Meanwhile, Deccan Chargers were terminated ahead of the IPL 2013.

Cameron White (2011-12)

The Aussie all-rounder was appointed as the deputy to Kumara Sangakkara and he got the chance to lead the team four times across the tow seasons in the absence of the left-handed southpaw.

Under the leadership of Cameron White, the franchise had a success rate of 50%. Decaan Chargers won two games and lost another two in four games under the captaincy of the Aussie.

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A new Hyderabad-based franchise, Sunrisers Hyderabad, was formed ahead of the IPL 2013.

Players who have captained Sunrisers Hyderabad – 

Kumar Sangakkara (2013)

The newly-formed franchise appointed the Sri Lankan legend as the skipper in the 2013 season. However, he captained the team only in the first nine games before leaving for the national duties. The Sunrisers won only four out of those games.

Cameron White (2013)

Cameron White was appointed as the deputy skipper of the team, hence, he was handed over the leadership duties in Sangakkara’s absence. The Aussie all-rounder did a decent job as the stand-in skipper as the franchise won 5 out of 8 league games under him.

Sunrisers Hyderabad managed to qualify for the playoffs after finishing 4th in the points table. However, the team could not go much further as they crashed out of the tournament after losing the Eliminator.

Shikhar Dhawan (2014)

The Indian opener was appointed as Sunrisers Hyderabad’s skipper in the 2014 season. The performance went downhill under his leadership as the team finished 6th in the points table. The left-handed southpaw led the team across 16 matches, winning 7 and losing 9 in the process.

Darren Sammy (2014)

The World Cup-winning West Indies skipper Darren Sammy was appointed as the Sunrisers Hyderabad’s vice-captain for 2014 season. He captained the team mid-season after the team axed Shikhar Dhawan as the skipper. He led the franchise in four games and managed to win 2 games, while losing 2.

David Warner (2015-2017 & 2020-2021)

Sunrisers Hyderabad signed David Warner in the IPL 2015 auctions and appointed him as the new skipper. Under his leadership, the franchise touched new heights. They failed to qualify for the playoffs in 2015 after finishing 6th in the points table but bounced back in style the next season.

Sunrisers Hyderabad became the champions in the IPL 2016 after defeating RCB in the final. The franchise continued their good run as they qualified for the playoffs in 2017. However, the Aussie opener got banned due to ball tampering case in 2018. He returned to franchise in 2019 but got the captaincy back in 2020.

Under David Warner, the Orange Army qualified for the playoffs in 2020. However, the team had a terrible start in the IPL 2021 as they won only one game out of the first seven games. Subsequently, the Aussie was removed from the captaincy mid-season.

Kane Williamson (2018-2019 & 2021-2022)

The Kiwi was appointed the Sunrisers Hyderabad’s skipper in 2018 after David Warner was banned. Kane led the team in the IPL 2018 and 2019. It was a successful stint as the team ended-up as the runners up in the 2018 season, while they qualified for the playoffs in the 2019 for the fourth consecutive season.

Meanwhile, he once again was appointed the skipper during the controversial 2021 season, where the team management removed David Warner as the captain mid-season. The Kiwi skipper also led the Orange Army in the 2022 season where they finished 8th with 6 wins and 8 losses in 14 matches.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2019 – Present)

The veteran Indian pacer led the Orange Army for the first time in 2019 in the absence of Kane Williamson. He once again was tasked to lead the franchise in the final league game of the IPL 2022. Bhuvi has captained the Sunrisers in 7 matches and have managed to win only two games, while losing five.

Manish Pandey (2021)

During the IPL 2021, Both captain Kane Williamson and vice-captain Bhuvneshwar Kumar were unavailable for a game against Mumbai Indians. Hence, the team management appointed Manish Pandey as the captain of the team for the solitary game which they lost.

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