No country has had a bigger impact on the Indian Premier league, so far, than Australia.
From Mike Hussey to Mathew Hayden, Adam Gilchrist to Shane Warne, the Kangaroos stars have always been a pivotal cog in their respective sides since the inception of the league.
So it is only fitting to see the franchises recognising their impact and placing added trust on their shoulders. The 10th edition of IPl sees half the teams being managed by Australians.
Defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad saw their skipper David Warner almost single-handedly take their side to win the crown last season.
Steve Smith's incredible form of late made the Rising Pune Supergiants sack India's fan favourite Mahendra Singh Dhoni as skipper and hand the coveted position over to the Australian captain.
With last season skipper Murali Vijay out of the tournament, Kings XI Punjab named Glenn Maxwell their skipper despite having England's national team captain Eoin Morgan and West Indies' 2016 World T20 winning captain Darren Sammy among their ranks.
As far as Royal Challengers Bangalore are concerned, Shane Watson will lead the side atleast till their regular skipper Virat Kohli returns from his injury.
And you cannot blame the sides for making these decisions as the contributions from these players can never be underestimated.
Warner had a fantastic last season, scoring at will to guide his team to their maiden title after making their debut in 2013. The Australian opener scored an amazing 848 runs in 17 matches at an average of 60.57.
Overall in 101 IPl matches, the big-hitting left-hander has scored 3387 runs, including 32 half-centuries, at an incredible strike rate of 142.31. Infact Warner is the seventh highest-run scorer in the IPl.
Chris Gayle from RCB is the only other foreigner to be ahead of him in the top-run scorers list.
The top-ranked Test batsmen Smith has shown his adaptability in all forms of the game by regularly coming up with the goods for his respective franchise in the cash-rich league.
In 55 matches, the Australian skipper has 1315 runs at a commendable average of 38.67. With all the talks about him replacing Dhoni as captain doing the rounds before the match, Smith justified the decision by almost single-handedly helping his side to victory against Mumbai Indians with an incredible 54-ball 84 runs in their IPl opener.
Meanwhile, Punjab's new skipper Maxwell has a phenomenal strike rate of 161.61 so far in the 43 matches he has played in the IPl.
Finally, Watson has been an ever-reliable performer in IPl since turning out for Rajasthan Royals in the inaugural 2008 season.
The present RCB stand-in-skipper has scored 2573 runs in 95 matches at a decent average of 32.56 and a very good strike rate of 140.60. He has also taken 81 wickets in that period.
Recalling the past
Seeing Australian players leading IPl sides is not a new thing. From the inception of the tournament, the Indian Premier league has seen various Australian stars relishing in that position.
The first two editions of IPl saw an Australian-led side winning the crown.
In the inaugural season, inspired by the legendary Australian spinner Shane Warne, Rajasthan Royals won the crown.
The following season, swashbuckling wicket-keeping batsman Adam Gilchrist led Deccan Chargers to IPl glory.
IPl's perennial underachievers Kings XI Punjab's best season so far came under then Australian skipper George Bailey, when they reached the 2014 Final before losing to Kolkata Knight Riders in dramatic fashion.
So the Punjab outfit cannot be totally blamed for turning to another Australian to help them get out of the recent slump, which saw them finish at the bottom of the table in the last two seasons.
Once Kohli returns to full-fitness, the Indian contingent will outnumber the Australian counterparts in terms of leading their sides at 5-3. But, that cannot take away the impact Australian players have had in the IPl.