The IPL 2026 league phase finished after 70 matches, deciding the four playoff teams starting May 26
Captains have been central to their franchises’ fortunes, with some like Rajat Patidar shining
Let’s take a look at our definitive ranking of IPL 2026 captains
The league phase of the Indian Premier League 2026 came to an end after 70 gruelling matches, ultimately deciding the top-four teams that will play in the IPL playoffs, which start on May 26. Over the season, some players have starred for their franchises, while others have been disappointing and unable to justify their price tags.
Similar to the players, the captains of the 10 IPL franchises have had their own journeys. Some, like Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s Ruturaj Gaikwad, have successfully led their teams to the playoffs. Others, like the skippers of five-time champions Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings, have had seasons to forget.
With an unprecedented nine domestic captains at the helm this year, along with a solitary overseas World Cup winner, the tactical acumen among the IPL teams has never been higher. Keeping in mind the on-field performances and the results, here’s the definitive ranking of the IPL 2026 captains.
10. Rishabh Pant (LSG)
Lucknow Super Giants’ decision to acquire Pant for INR 27 crore and hand him the captain’s armband has aged like milk. LSG finished at the bottom of the table with just eight points and were the first team to be eliminated from playoff contention.
Pant’s captaincy was chaotic at best, and non-existent at worst. His experimentation with the batting order affected the form of the otherwise lethal Nicholas Pooran. While he is the heartbeat of the team and undoubtedly a leader, he has fallen short as a tactician. The pressure of the captaincy has also affected his batting, having scored 581 runs over two seasons.
Ending his season with an F-bomb in the post-match interview, hours after he was dropped from the India squad, summed up Pant’s IPL 2026 season.
9. Hardik Pandya (MI)
The only reason Hardik Pandya is not at the bottom of this list is that he successfully ended Mumbai Indians’ first-match losing streak. Other than that, it has been a miserable season for MI. Despite featuring two of the best T20 players in world cricket in Suryakumar Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah, they finished the season with eight points.
A lot of it has to do with Pandya’s captaincy. Taking over the armband from fan-favourite Rohit Sharma, and despite the presence of the Indian T20I captain Suryakumar, Pandya has found it difficult to replicate the success he saw at Gujarat Titans.
There has been a massive disconnect between his aggressive, confident rhetoric at the toss and the team’s pathetic on-field performances. Then there have been his constant criticisms of the team in post-match interviews, and moments of on-field loss of composure like the one seen against KKR. Even experts like Simon Doull and Pommie Mbangwa called on MI to review the captaincy situation, which seems certain ahead of next season.
8. Ajinkya Rahane (KKR)
Rahane has had a renaissance since moving to Kolkata Knight Riders, but there were big question marks raised on his batting and leadership as KKR’s journey fizzled out in the group stage. Rahane’s calm, analogue presence has failed to extract the best out of an already imbalanced squad, and some contentious decisions have come back to haunt them.
Rahane’s decision to stick with a horribly out-of-form Ramandeep Singh, while giving Manish Pandey barely a look-in, has been well criticised. Pandey scored a match-turning 45 against MI, showing the team what they had missed.
After a horror start, KKR did manage a six-match winning streak, while Cameron Green, Finn Allen, and Sunil Narine came to life in the second half of the season. However, it was too little, too late to salvage KKR’s campaign.
7. Ruturaj Gaikwad (CSK)
Taking over from MS Dhoni is a daunting task at the best of times, and it is far from the best of times at Chennai Super Kings at the moment. Dhoni’s shadow looms large over the franchise despite the veteran missing the entire season with an injury. Under Gaikwad, CSK made a horrible start, losing their first three matches.
Gaikwad failed to instil any semblance of calm or composure in his young and misfiring side, which dropped an alarming number of catches, while the bowling unit leaked runs in crucial matches (for example, conceding 229 in a must-win game against GT).
Ultimately, CSK finished in eighth place with 12 points, marking another early exit for the former IPL behemoths.
6. Axar Patel (DC)
Axar looks like a good tactician who has been tasked with leading an underpowered team. DC’s results have been far from good this season, finishing in sixth place, but that is more due to the collective failure of the team rather than Axar’s captaincy.
There have been some odd decisions, like not bowling himself or Kuldeep Yadav in the matches against RCB and SRH, instead relying on part-time spinner Nitish Rana. Similarly, Axar has also floundered with the bat, scoring just 173 runs. Then there have been the dropped catches, which became a nightmare for DC, which even Axar acknowledged.
All these combined to create a perfectly poor season for DC. However, the franchise will likely keep its faith in Axar for next season.
5. Shreyas Iyer (PBKS)
Historically, Punjab Kings have been a graveyard for captains, but that trend changed when Iyer led them to the finals last season. This year, though, has been a tale of two halves for PBKS. The first half saw them race away to the top with a six-match winning streak. Iyer was crucial to this run, rotating his spinners and his young pace battery well, all the while protecting them from off-field noise.
The second half was a stunning six-match losing streak that ultimately saw them finish outside the playoff places. And everything that went right with Iyer’s captaincy earlier went wrong, with players like Yuzvendra Chahal and Prabhsimran Singh coming under fire for the wrong reasons, resulting in a strange social media statement from the franchise regarding “fake stories”.
4. Riyan Parag (RR)
There were a few naysayers when Rajasthan Royals got rid of Sanju Samson and appointed Parag as the new captain. However, the move, seen as a risky gamble by Director of Cricket Kumar Sangakkara, has proved to be a successful one, with RR finishing in fourth place and securing a playoff spot.
Parag took to heart Sangakkara’s mandate of playing “fearless, smart cricket”. The young skipper has managed to unify a dressing room full of seasoned international campaigners and teenage starlets. Parag’s reign did have a few bumps here and there, but it has mostly been a decent season for the Royals.
3. Shubman Gill (GT)
After missing the second match of the season with an injury, Gill returned as GT’s captain to lead his side to a win against DC. This resilience has been a hallmark of Gill’s captaincy, who has matured from a rookie skipper to one of the calmest captains in the league.
Even when his team lost four of their first seven matches, Gill did not panic. He identified GT’s overreliance on pace and switched to spin in the middle overs, getting the best out of Rashid Khan. Mohammad Kaif labelled Gill the best captain of this season for his use of the GT bowling attack. With the bat, the opener scored 616 runs, finishing second in the Orange Cap list behind his teammate, Sai Sudharsan (638).
2. Ishan Kishan / Pat Cummins (SRH)
Kishan’s interim reign began with three defeats in Sunrisers Hyderabad’s first four matches, but they soon found their rhythm with back-to-back wins. He handed IPL debuts to pacers Praful Hinge and Sakib Hussain, who have turned out to be vital weapons for the team.
Cummins took over the captaincy when he returned from his injury layoff, and immediately took SRH to another level. Being a bowler himself, he has gotten the best out of his teammates, especially SRH’s pacers, using them early in the innings instead of saving them for the death.
Cummins’ ability to stay calm and stick to his plans has drawn praise from former MI coach Mark Boucher.
1. Rajat Patidar (RCB)
Appointing Patidar as the skipper over Virat Kohli will go down as one of the best decisions made by Royal Challengers Bengaluru. After leading them to their maiden IPL title last season, Patidar has delivered again, leading them into the playoffs after finishing top of the table with 18 points.
Patidar boasts a franchise-record win percentage of almost 70%, with a perfect record against the big three of KKR, MI, and CSK. He has shown excellent tactical awareness to get the most out of the senior members of the squad, especially Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who has found a new lease of life this season.
With the bat, he has scored 393 runs, with a captain’s knock of 63 against RR that rescued his side from a difficult position of 76/5, which ultimately helped them reach 201/8.
Patidar will now lead RCB in the IPL 2026 Qualifier 1 tomorrow, where they will face GT.
