There is no denying that that MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli have done exceedingly well as captains. Dhoni finished his captaincy career as the most decorated skipper of India while Kohli is looking set to create his own legacy. But despite that both the players have some times faced criticism for preferring to play more with players from their respective IPL teams even in the national team.
And the stats also suggest that criticism is not hollow. While it would be absolutely wrong to undermine the players’ credentials, the fact that they were fast-tracked into the national team after playing in the Indian skipper’s IPL team has attracted divided opinions.
In 2014, when Dhoni was leading India and Chennai Super Kings, the franchises’ players were picked in the squad 35 times in five tours. Mumbai Indians also had good representation last year as its players found a place on the tours 21 times in 2017. But Mumbai’s representation has been consistent over the years.
In the last one year or so, players from Bangalore and Mumbai have the most number of representation in the national team. But while Mumbai has been pumping in players from quite some time now, Bangalore’s graph has increased remarkably since Kohli took charge.
Sunrisers Hyderabad has also good representation. But it is only because their players like Shikhar Dhawan, Ishant Sharma and Bhuvneshwar Kumar have been integral part of the team for quite some time now.
On the other hand, Kolkata Knight Riders, Kings XI Punjab and Delhi Daredevils have poor representation in the national team over the years.
Stats showing number of times IPL players picked for the national team
| IPL TEAM | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 |
| Royal Challengers Bangalore | 7 | 19 | 13 | 8 | 19 | 26 |
| Mumbai Indians | 7 | 20 | 14 | 13 | 26 | 21 |
| Deccan Chargers/Sunrisers Hyderabad | 2 | 17 | 32 | 19 | 24 | 22 |
| Kolkata Knight Riders | 6 | 5 | 14 | 6 | 13 | 20 |
| Delhi Daredevils | 4 | 7 | 16 | 4 | 19 | 16 |
| Kings XI Punjab | 3 | 0 | 14 | 13 | 16 | 15 |
| Chennai Super Kings | 8 | 30 | 35 | 16 | NP | NP |
| Rajasthan Royals | 1 | 4 | 22 | 14 | NP | NP |
| Sahara Pune Warriors | 5 | 10 | NP | NP | NP | NP |
| Pune Supergiants | NP | NP | NP | NP | 24 | 22 |
| Gujarat Lions | NP | NP | NP | NP | 15 | 15 |
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NP – Not played
So by now it is pretty much clear that the IPL captains prefer their franchise teammates in the national teams. And the only reason that can justify this is that the captains perhaps like to show faith in those players with whom they have spent a considerable time in the dressing room away from the national team. There are also stats to prove this point.
During the 2013 and 2014 seasons, when Chennai Super Kings’ representation in the Indian team was at its peak, players like Suresh Raina, Mohit Sharma and Murali Vijay were regular in the national team. During the aforementioned period, Raina played in 34 matches and averaged a modest 35. On the other hand, Mohit Sharma went on to play 11 matches during the period but could pick up only 8 wickets while Vijay cemented his spot in Test team.
With Dhoni clearly backing his Chennai teammates, the likes Kedar Jadhav and K L Rahul could not get a place in the team despite being top run-getters in the 2013-14 Ranji trophy. The duo started featuring regularly in the national team only after their Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli replaced Dhoni as India captain.
But while the captains have definitely backed the players from their franchise, one cannot say that the decisions have backfired. The likes of Raina, Ashwin, Vijay have totally justified Dhoni’s backing while Rahul, Chahal and Jadhav are also making sure that Kohli’s decision to back them does not attract criticism.