Top 5 youngest captains in IPL

Two players have captained a side in the IPL before turning 23.

The Indian Premier League (IPL), since its inception in 2008, has gradually grown into the best and most competitive cricket league across the globe. The tournament has produced many young talents – be it batters, bowlers, all-rounders or captains.

Since 2008, 17 editions have been played, where Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Mumbai Indians (MI) have won the title most times (5). Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are the other team to have won the title more than once along with CSK and MI.

The league, in last 17 years, has played a pivotal role in producing and identifying talent not only for the Indian cricket team, but also for other nations. A lot of youngsters have not just emerged as brilliant players for their franchises and India, they have also proved their leadership abilities.

On that note, let’s take a look at the top five youngest players to captain a side in the IPL.

Here are the top five youngest captains in the IPL:

5. Shreyas Iyer (23y 142d)

Shreyas Iyer is the fifth youngest skipper to ever lead an IPL side. Iyer took over the reins for the Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) while he was just 23. He made his captaincy debut against the Kolkata Knight Riders when Delhi’s first choice skipper Gautam Gambhir stepped down during the 2018 IPL.

He pulled off two back-to-back wins against CSK and MI. Iyer captained the Delhi based outfit until IPL 2021 and even led them to a final before joining KKR, where he won his first IPL trophy.

4. Riyan Parag (23y 133d)

Riyan Parag is the latest name to be added to this list. Parag captained for the first time in the IPL when Sanju Samson was ruled out of his team’s first three games of IPL 2025 as wicket-keeper. Hence, the team opted to play their regular skipper Samson as an Impact Player and appointed Parag as their stand-in captain for three games.

Parag made his IPL captaincy debut against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and ended up on the losing side as his side couldn’t chase a mammoth target of 287 runs. The 23-year-old had a breakthrough IPL campaign in 2024 after a series of disappointing performances for the Royals.

3. Suresh Raina (23y 112d)

Mr. IPL as he is known, Suresh Raina is the third youngest player to ever lead an IPL franchise. Raina was handed the responsibility to lead CSK for three games in the absence of MS Dhoni, who was nursing an injury in 2010.

Raina put together an impactful performance and scored 49 runs against the Delhi Daredevils in his first game in charge back in 2010. He also captained the Gujarat Lions for a couple of seasons and led them to a top of the table finish in 2016.

2. Steve Smith (22y 344d)

Australian batsman Steve Smith is the only overseas player in this list. The Aussie holds the record for being the second youngest skipper in the IPL. He made his first appearance as a captain in the IPL for the erstwhile Pune Warriors against RCB in 2012.

It was before Smith achieved his prime as a batter. He replaced the legendary Sourav Ganguly for one match as the Warriors finished last in the league stage. The Australian cricketer also went on to lead the Rajasthan Royals, where he won 15 out of 27 games along with the Rising Pune Supergiant.

1. Virat Kohli (22y 187d)

Virat Kohli is the youngest captain in history of the IPL. Kohli is also the only player to have represented just one franchise since the inception of the IPL. His first match in charge was against the Rajasthan Royals in 2011 as Daniel Vettori was out due to an injury.

Kohli took full charge of RCB in 2013 and won both of his opening games. The highest run-scorer of the IPL has overseen 143 IPL games as the captain of RCB and took them to playoffs four times while emerging as the runners-up in 2016.

(All stats updated till 26th March, 2025)

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