IPL 2026: Three Captains Who Could Be Sacked After Poor Campaigns - Report

Franchise cricket can be cutthroat, especially in a tournament like the Indian Premier League, where much is at stake, and the competition level is elite. Therefore, underperformance at this level for a significant period can have immediate consequences, irrespective of your reputation and stature in international cricket.

Three IPL captains, whose teams have had an abysmal season under their tenure could end up losing their jobs after the season, sources tracking developments in various franchises have indicated.

Rishabh Pant, Axar Patel and Ajinkya Rahane are the three captains, who could face an axe from their respective franchises for their inability to take their teams into playoffs for the second consecutive season.

While Rishabh Pant's team is the only one officially out of the tournament, Axar Patel and Rahane's DC and KKR are also highly unlikely to make it to the playoffs.

Apart from his captaincy, Axar Patel's numbers as a player have been poor. The southpaw has scored only 100 runs in nine innings, out of which 56 have come in a single innings, which means he has managed only 44 runs across 8 knocks despite batting in the top five for most of the tournament. His bowling numbers also haven't been great as he took only 10 wickets in 12 games at an economy rate of 8.08.

Delhi Capitals is split between the GMR and JSW group with both switching cricketing operations responsibilities every two years. With the reigns going to the JSW Group next year, it is highly unlikely that Axar Patel will be retained as captain by the management.

"The entire coaching staff is also unlikely to be retained," an IPL source tracking developments told PTI on conditions of anonymity.

The decision not to give opportunities to the flamboyant Bengal wicket-keeper batter at the top despite consistent failures at the top, ignoring all-rounder Madhav Tiwari for the majority part of the tournament, and overestimating Sahil Parekh's capabilities has been accounted as a strategic failure. Parakh undoubtedly has talent but remains a work in progress.

While Axar Patel's utility as a T20 player is pretty high but there's much to show for him in the captaincy department.

Rishabh Pant's Captaincy Future On Tenterhooks

Rishabh Pant has been an enigma in T20 cricket. Pant made his name as a hard-hitter during his nascent stages, but this format, which is known to be best suited for players like Pant, has been the format in which he has been the poorest.

Despite Pant being underperforming in the IPL for the past few years, he was brought for a whopping INR 27 crore by LSG in the 2025 mega auction and was named the captain too.

Unfortunately, Pant has been able to justify his price tag, as LSG have failed to make it to the playoffs for back-to-back years under his captaincy. On top of that, Pant's also had an abysmal year with the bat as he made only 251 runs at a strike-rate of 138, which is poor by modern T20 standards.

Apart from gun-players in their squad, LSG have a star-studded line-up in the coaching department too with the like Justin Langer, Tom Moody and Kane Williamson yet there were some calls made that left even staunch LSG supporters perplexed.

Arshin Kulkarni, who had a 134 strike in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy was slotted at the opening spot despite having a proven international skipper like Aiden Markram in the playing XI. He eventually made 17 off 24 ball in a high-scoring affair against RCB.

Another contentious call was the repeated chances given to Ayush Badoni ahead of players like Nicholas Pooran despite not possessing the muscular power game expected in modern T20 batting.

Within franchise circles, LSG owner, Sanjiv Goenka is seen as someone, who doesn't shy away from paying big bucks to players with immense capabilities but at the same time demands performances that can justify with their big payouts.

KKR’s Rahane Problem Goes From Bad To Worse

Ajinkya Rahane's appointment as KKR's captain was more of a forced call as there wasn't another credible leadership option for them. Rahane's former Mumbai teammate, Abhishek Nayar's appointment as the head coach also played in his favor.

However, KKR were also hit by the fact that Rahane and Nayar's protege Angkrish Raghuvanshi could not meet the high strike-rate demand of modern T20 cricket.

Raghuvanshi scored 340 runs at a strike-rate of 139-plus while skipper Rahane managed 237 runs at a strike-rate of 133. Both batted in the top three, but couldn't give them fiery starts in the power play consistently.

In 11 matches, the duo combined for only 25 sixes, averaging barely two sixes per game between them.

Rahane, who was called out for his mediocre strike rate at the start of the season, hit back at his critics by calling them jealous, but he also has to introspect on whether he can really keep up with the modern requirements of the T20 game.

While Axar Patel and Rishabh Pant are still valuable as T20 players, Ajinkya Rahane's utility as a T20 player is in question, and if KKR didn't persist with him as a player, let alone as captain, he could well go unsold in the next mini-auction.