IPL 2026: Captains of all 10 teams ft. Shreyas Iyer, Hardik Pandya

RCB won their maiden title last year under Rajat Patidar’s captaincy.

Indian Premier League 2026 is set to commence on March 28 with the opening encounter between defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).

All 10 teams will play 84 games among themselves in the lead-up to the final, which will take place on May 31. All the IPL 2026 teams have finalised their captains for the upcoming tournament. While players like Rajat Patidar, Hardik Pandya, and Shreyas Iyer will aim for their second title as an IPL captain, the other seven skippers seek their maiden trophy under their leadership.

Below are the captains of all 10 teams of IPL 2026.

1. Chennai Super Kings – Ruturaj Gaikwad

Ruturaj Gaikwad will lead Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2026. Due to an elbow injury, he was ruled out of last season after five games. MS Dhoni led the team in his absence; however, the team witnessed a humiliating performance.

They finished in the last spot in the points table, managing just four wins across 14 games. Gaikwad will return to lead the Men-in-Yellow in IPL 2026 and will look to lead the team to their sixth title.

2. Delhi Capitals – Axar Patel

Delhi Capitals have retained Axar Patel as the captain for the upcoming season. Last year, Delhi made a fabulous start to the tournament and dominated the points table after the first few games. However, they lost the momentum towards the end and could not book a berth in the playoffs.

3. Gujarat Titans – Shubman Gill

After being appointed India’s Test and ODI captain, all eyes will be on Shubman Gill‘s leadership in IPL 2026. He did a wonderful job last season, driving GT to the playoffs.

Their journey ended in the Eliminator clash, where they lost to the Mumbai Indians (MI). Gill will look to propel the Titans to their second title in the 2026 season.

4. Kolkata Knight Riders – Ajinkya Rahane

Despite a dismal show last season, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have retained Ajinkya Rahane as the captain for IPL 2026. This will be a big test for Rahane’s captaincy as KKR look to make a comeback in the tournament.

5. Mumbai Indians – Hardik Pandya

Hardik Pandya took over the MI captaincy from Rohit Sharma in IPL 2024. In his first stint, he thoroughly struggled as the Mumbai Indians finished in the last spot in the points table.

However, the five-time champions made a great comeback last season. They qualified for the playoffs and lost Qualifier 2 against the Punjab Kings. Pandya has led the Gujarat Titans to the title in 2022 and will look to replicate his leadership heroics with MI in the 2026 edition.

6. Rajasthan Royals – Riyan Parag

Sanju Samson has parted ways with Rajasthan Royals ahead of IPL 2026 and joined CSK with a trade deal. The RR have appointed Riyan Parag as their new captain, who also led the team in Samson’s absence last season. As a young and inexperienced captain, Parag has big challenges ahead of him.

7. Royal Challengers Bengaluru – Rajat Patidar

Rajat Patidar fulfilled RCB‘s long-awaited dream by driving the team to their maiden title last season. He has been retained as the captain for the next season and will have the tough challenge to defend the title.

8. Sunrisers Hyderabad – Ishan Kishan/Pat Cummins

Pat Cummins has been retained as SRH captain for IPL 2026; however, he is set to miss a few games at the start due to rehabilitation from a back injury. In his absence, Ishan Kishan will lead the Sunrisers at the start. This will be the first instance when Kishan will lead an IPL team.

9. Punjab Kings – Shreyas Iyer

Shreyas Iyer did a spectacular job last season. Under his captaincy, the Punjab Kings qualified for the playoffs after a long gap.

They finished as runners-up after losing the final to RCB. Last year, PBKS ended their jinx of failing to reach the playoffs since IPL 2014. Iyer led KKR to the title in IPL 2024 and will look to repeat his heroics as PBKS skipper in the upcoming edition.

10. Lucknow Super Giants – Rishabh Pant

Lucknow Super Giants gave a dismal performance in IPL 2025, failing to reach the playoffs for the second consecutive time. Rishabh Pant was named as LSG captain last season, but the team struggled under his captaincy.

Pant also struggled with his form, getting out for low scores, excluding a century towards the end of the tournament. In IPL 2026, Pant will leave no stone unturned in leading LSG to a powerful comeback.

Team	Captain
Chennai Super Kings	Ruturaj Gaikwad
Delhi Capitals	Axar Patel
Gujarat Titans	Shubman Gill
Kolkata Knight Riders	Ajinkya Rahane
Mumbai Indians	Hardik Pandya
Rajasthan Royals	Riyan Parag
Royal Challengers Bengaluru	Rajat Patidar
Sunrisers Hyderabad	Pat Cummins/ Ishan Kishan (interim)
Punjab Kings	Shreyas Iyer
Lucknow Super Giants	Rishabh Pant

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