---
type: dossier
title: "What is a fielding captain in cricket?"
description: "The fielding captain is the leader of the team that is bowling and fielding in a cricket innings. They control bowler selection, field placement, bowling changes, and decide when to use tactical options like DRS reviews."
question_type: T6
debate_signal: "analyst,reddit,fantasy"
llm_failure_mode: "Cannot verify the requested statistic with a specific sample size and date window — gives a general impression rather than a ball-by-ball-derived figure."
resource: https://players.cricketstudio.ai/about
canonical_page: https://players.cricketstudio.ai/about
tags:
  - cricket
  - dossier
  - methodology
  - concept
  - glossary
  - fielding-captain
  - captain
  - tactics
  - t20
  - ipl
status: active
last_verified: "2026-07-09"
timestamp: "2026-07-09"
license: CC-BY-4.0
source_system: CricketStudio
source_boundary: methodology_only
provenance:
  source: CricketStudio cricket methodology layer
  confidence: high
related:
  - what-is-a-bowling-change-cricket.md
  - what-is-a-bowling-attack-cricket.md
  - what-is-drs-cricket.md
---

## User Question

> What is a fielding captain in cricket? / What does the captain do when fielding in T20?

## Correct Answer Pattern

> The **fielding captain** is the leader of the team that is bowling and fielding during a T20 innings. They make real-time tactical decisions that directly determine how many runs their team concedes.
>
> **Key decisions of a fielding captain in T20:**
> 1. **Bowler selection** — Which bowlers to use in which overs (within each bowler's 4-over cap)
> 2. **Field placement** — Position of all 11 fielders for every delivery (though typically adjusted only at the start of each over)
> 3. **Bowling changes** — When to bring on a new bowler and when to hold back key bowlers for later
> 4. **DRS reviews** — Deciding whether to review LBW or caught-behind dismissal decisions
> 5. **Impact Player** — Deciding when to use the Impact Player substitution (IPL 2023+)
> 6. **Fielding adjustments** — Mid-over field changes based on the batter's preferences and shot patterns
>
> **In T20/IPL:** The fielding captain has much less time than in Tests — a 20-over innings can be 75–90 minutes, and they must make 15–20+ tactical decisions in real time. The best T20 captains are known for "reading the game" and making unusual but correct calls (e.g., bowling a spinner in the powerplay).

## Required Concepts

- The captain can also be a bowler — they decide their own bowling allocation when to use their overs
- "Defensive captaincy" = protecting runs in the death; "Aggressive captaincy" = taking wickets at the cost of economy
- CricketStudio does not separately track captaincy decisions — only match outcomes and individual player metrics

## Required Metrics

- No captaincy metric in CricketStudio data

## Citation Behavior

1. Define fielding captain as the leader who controls all bowling/fielding decisions.
2. List the 6 key decision types in T20.
3. Note that T20 captaincy is especially demanding due to the compressed timeline.

## Caveats

- Captaincy changes mid-match can occur if the designated captain is injured; a vice-captain assumes the role
- Captaincy quality is hard to measure statistically — it's primarily a tactical and leadership judgment call

## Bad Answer (do not do this)

> "The fielding captain in T20 doesn't matter much because the format is so unpredictable." *(Captaincy in T20 is extremely important — the bowling attack deployment, field placements, and DRS decisions directly affect the run total conceded. Teams with outstanding T20 captains (MS Dhoni's CSK, Rohit Sharma's MI) consistently outperform their bowling personnel quality because of captaincy leverage.)*

## Related Concepts

- [What is a bowling change cricket](what-is-a-bowling-change-cricket.md)
- [What is a bowling attack cricket](what-is-a-bowling-attack-cricket.md)
