Australian players have been quite dominant in the IPL ever since the league’s inception. Only four foreigners are allowed in the playing XI of IPL teams, and if a fan observes closely, almost every team has around two to three Australian players in their squads for the IPL seasons.
The IPL franchises also hand the captaincy of their team to the worthy candidates from Australia. In fact, the first captain to win an IPL trophy was an Aussie. Leg-spinner Shane Warne achieved the feat while leading Rajasthan Royals in 2008, and then in 2009, wicket-keeper Adam Gilchrist led Deccan Chargers to the title.
MS Dhoni is among the most successful captains in IPL, having won four championships. He is the only captain to lead a team in IPL 2008 and 2023.
It is interesting to note that there have been a couple of players who first played under Dhoni’s captaincy in the league, then moved to another team and led that franchise against Dhoni’s team. Here’s a list of those two players.
1. One of the most successful Australian players in IPL – Steve Smith
Australian batter Steve Smith led the Pune Warriors and Rajasthan Royals before moving to Rising Pune Supergiant in 2016, where he played under the leadership of MS Dhoni. In 2017, Smith became RPS captain, and then Dhoni played under his captaincy.
When CSK and RR returned in 2018, Dhoni and Smith returned to their franchises also. Smith became captain again in 2019 and led the team against Dhoni’s CSK.
2. George Bailey
Not many fans would know that George Bailey started his career with the Chennai Super Kings. He made his debut under the captaincy of MS Dhoni. After that, in 2014, Bailey moved to Punjab Kings and became the team’s new captain.
Bailey led PBKS against Dhoni’s CSK team. In 2016, Bailey joined RPS and played under Dhoni’s leadership again.
